If society as we know it collapsed...

[dfc]

Got it. So instead of having to deal with the reality that I might have to bludgeon another human to death with a shovel handle to keep get from stealing my food, I can idealize the situation instead and envision myself as a kick-ass, shotgun-wielding post-apocalyptic warrior who enjoys blasting the heads off zombies?

I think you are right, its only fun to think about when its zombies

Screw the shovel handle. I have a 1911 w/ PLENTY of ammo.

 

[onipar]

I think you guys are missing the underlying point of this thread, and that is self-reliance.
Not too long ago there was a thread that basically asked 'besides beer, what do you make for yourself.' There were many impressive posts, especially Yoopers.

Why buy something that you can make for yourself? or recycle, renew, and reuse?
Why pay sin taxes, when you don't have to?
Why not be a producer instead of a consumer, especially for your immediate family?

You can fantasize about the post-apocalyptic world, but you are already living it.
Most have lost the desire and subsequent means of self-reliance, homebrewing may be someone's first attempt at recapturing it...

Thanks, Hex. Yes, this was the initial intention. Truly it had nothing to do with zombies or anything like that, but I figured I'd let the thread evolve naturally.

It was probably my fault for saying "if society collapsed." It just seemed the easiest way to get in the mindset of "now we *have* to become self sustaining."

But I guess what I was envisioning wasn't so much a post-apocalyptic world where there are limited resources as I was a pre-industrial time.

It was more a question of if the ingredients weren't readily available, could you produce them in order to brew?

It sounds like a lot of you really could, which is awesome!

Besides being new to brewing and not having a whole lot of intimate knowledge of the process, my personal weak points would be growing and malting the grain, and "washing" or reusing yeast.

Also, for those saying it'd be easier to make a different type of alcohol, that's a legitimate response. I bet hard ciders and mead and wines would definitely be more prevalent.

Anyway, thanks for playing along.

 

[redcoat_or_rebel]

so is it the apocolyspe or just the end of society?

if it is the apocolyspe then you'll probably be more worried about your neighbor trying to eat your children than homebrewing.

Society as we know it (read "the Dollar") is about to collapse anyway but i don't see how that would effect being able to homebrew. farmer's will still farm, barter markets will pop up, and people will still brew.
heck i saw on here the other day someone said they regularly keep 700 lbs of malt on hand. fuel will be more of a factor wether or not you are able to brew.

get your gold, silver and guns now boys and girls.

 

[jkreuze]

When SWMBO tells me to quit working 'cause she wants to support me and pay all my bills I'll start worrying about making soap in my backyard. Until then I'll keep on spending my days inching my way up Debt Mountain.

I think if the world went apocalypse, though, I would make whiskey. Good, clear corn whiskey. Because I'm thinking that pretty much everyday I would wake up, look around, and need a stiff drink.

 

[Hex]

^Silly capitalist, hippies don't need soap!

 

[AZbrewer1]

This idea here, about what to do in the event of an apycolypse/society breakdown was the reason i started looking into brewing at all ( to say nothing of how cool it is to make your own beer) i personally have learned how to malt my own grains and dry them instead of buying premalted grains/extracts. I also just bottled 1 gallon of homemade mead that, despite not being aged yet, tasted awesome! I am currently looking into growing my own barley although until i get more land it proabably won't be an issue. self sufficenciy rules! my wife has beagan making her own cheese, vinegars and is about to try her hand at making wine.

 

[weirdboy]

So would we only be using wild yeasts for our beer in this post-apocolytic world?

I dunno about you but I have packets of US-05, S-04, S-23, and S-33, and Montrachet in addition to Red Star baker's yeast in my fridge. I am pretty sure I can culture those and keep them going, and additionally there are live cultures in the lambics and other Belgian styles I've got, and I could also culture some strains from bottles of homebrew and commercial brews in my garage.

 

[onipar]

This idea here, about what to do in the event of an apycolypse/society breakdown was the reason i started looking into brewing at all ( to say nothing of how cool it is to make your own beer) i personally have learned how to malt my own grains and dry them instead of buying premalted grains/extracts. I also just bottled 1 gallon of homemade mead that, despite not being aged yet, tasted awesome! I am currently looking into growing my own barley although until i get more land it proabably won't be an issue. self sufficenciy rules! my wife has beagan making her own cheese, vinegars and is about to try her hand at making wine.

That's really cool, AZbrewer. Yeah, I've tried my hand at some random self sufficiency things along the way: my own veggie garden, composting, etc. The stuff I really want to try, I'd need more land for. I wanted to try cheese making, but would prefer to have my own cows for the milk. I have wild grapes growing on my property, so I have considered trying to make wine, but never got around to it.

I'd like to use the wild blueberries around my house for a flavored beer at some point too.

 

[edb23]

That's really cool, AZbrewer. Yeah, I've tried my hand at some random self sufficiency things along the way: my own veggie garden, composting, etc. The stuff I really want to try, I'd need more land for. I wanted to try cheese making, but would prefer to have my own cows for the milk. I have wild grapes growing on my property, so I have considered trying to make wine, but never got around to it.

I'd like to use the wild blueberries around my house for a flavored beer at some point too.

blueberry mead or blueberry wine might be awesome

also, If it came down to it i'd just start fermenting any fruit i could find

 

[onipar]

blueberry mead or blueberry wine might be awesome

also, If it came down to it i'd just start fermenting any fruit i could find

My brother was keen on trying to make mead; I'll mention the blueberry flavor to him. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Teromous]

I probably wouldn't have time to brew, because I'd be too busy shooting looters and zombies.