“Space Beer”

This was a MNS headline that caught my attention. This beer is not really made in space, the barley which it is 100% made out of was grown in a five month mission in the International Space Station in 2006 sponsored by Sapporo breweries. Not being sold on Earth yet but some have had the honor to try this beer.
This is being partly funded by the Russian Academy of Science, in Japan. In my opinion the Russian Academy of Science should use its funds in better productive things. How is making beer out of out of space cultivated barley an improvement in science? Don’t get me wrong, the space program should be funded but not for useless purposes as these.