Strange Brews

While leafing through the latest magnum opus by Prof. Phil Baran and his Super Group (Nature, 2012, 492, p.95), I came across this playful graphic* near the bottom of page 4:

Source: Nature 2012 | Baran group, Scripps

Yes, that's right: Phil's "toolkit" chemistry for site-selective radical additions works in buffer, cell lysate, or oolong tea. Sounds like we need a few more entries in B.R.S.M.'s "Conditions You'll Never Try" post!

Mmm, delicious solvent...
Source: forbes.com

Perhaps a story I tossed out in his Comments section bears repeating: I once attended a conference where Profs. Paul Wender and Kazunori Koide spoke on alternate days. Wender went first, and mentioned in passing that one of his group's specialties (I think it was Rh [2+2+2], but correct me if you know otherwise...) could be performed in beer. Not to be outdone, Dr. Koide called his group the following morning, and arranged a hasty trial of his transition-metal detecting fluorescent sensor in Starbucks coffee.

Escalation followed. By the end of the conference, everyone had rung up their labs to try ever more exotic solvents, ranging from wine to paint thinner, then finally to whiskey. As explained in Adam Rogers' fantastic 2011 piece "Mystery of the Canadian Whiskey Fungus," this aged, distilled melange of organic compounds should foil up all but the most robust reactions; I'm fairly certain the reaction - another metal-catalyzed cyclization - still performed around 40%. Not too shabby.

*Just noticed that Bethany Halford beat me to it, at least as far as the tea!

Elemental Beer

It's October, which means falling leaves, football, cider, und Oktoberfest. Cracking open my copy of the latest WIRED Magazine last night, I came face-to-face with a full-page ad for Bud Light Platinum:

Source: Anheuser-Busch

Now, I understand the idea: an expensive noble metal speaks to the supposed quality of this latest beer offering. But it got me thinking - How often do you see element-themed noms de booze?

Let’s examine the obvious first. For the last few NFL seasons, Coors Light has run a promo with a speeding train called “The Silver Bullet.” Care for something else? Maybe some Molsen Golden, or anything from the Coors brewery in Golden, CO. With the help of Google and Beer Advocate, we’ll stray a little farther afield for a few more periodic pints…

Dieu du Ciel Helium, Montreal, Canada

Lithia Beer, West Bend, WI

Mount Carbon Beer, Pottsville, PA

(I know it’s cheating a bit, but how about the nitrogen Guinness rocket / widget?)

Gordon Finest Titanium, Scotland

Barney Gumble holds a
'Hassium Hefeweizen'

Fuji No Kina Vanadium Beer, Nigata Brewery, Japan

Carling Chrome, Molson Coors UK

Iron City Beer, Pittsburgh, PA

OMB Copper, Mecklenberg, NC

Arsenic, Belgium

Tsingtao Selenium-Riched 8, China

Krypton Rye PA, Victoria, BC, Canada

Tungsten Strong Lager, England

Tin Roof Beer, New Orleans, LA

There’s a brewery in Richland, WA called Atomic Ale, located just down the street from an historical plutonium reactor*. The ambience has apparently rubbed off; their beer roster includes Plutonium Porter, Seaborgium 106 Scottish Ale, Dysprosium DunkelWeisen, and Proton Pale Ale.

Surprisingly, several apt elements seem to have no brew to call their own. Quaff a Rubidium Red? A Lanthanum lambic, or maybe a Germanium Doppelböck? Americium Amber, Indium Pale Ale, Barium Brown…these things just write themselves!

Readers, have I missed any other elemental beers? Have any suggestions for ones you’d like to see?

Update (10/6/12) - How about elemental breweries? Telluride Brewing Co., Element Brewing Co.

*Several folks have commented that I might be grossly oversimplifying the importance of the Hanford site, akin to calling dinosaurs "those prehistoric dragons," or the Super Bowl "the last football game of the season." My apologies; I'll look deeper into it, and plan a follow-up post.