Home Brewing: Fun Hobby Or Vital Skill?

The following article Home Brewing: Fun Hobby Or Vital Skill? Read more on: Total Survival

Curious about home brewing? Discover why you should consider some knowledge about one of the most wanted beverages in the world!

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Home Brewing | What You Need to Know About Craft Beer

Widely Consumed Beverage

We don’t typically think of beer as something that’s absolutely essential to human survival. And while it’s true that securing items like water, food, and shelter should be prioritized above enjoying a cold beer in a survival situation.

Mastering the art of home brewing and simple homebrew recipes sure would be a handy skill to have when the SHTF. You see, alcohol is a constant throughout history.

And whether or not you enjoy drinking beer, wine or spirits, the demand for these items will always be strong. In fact, that demands skyrockets when times are tough.

Beer is currently ranked as the third most consumed beverage on earth, coming in just behind tea and water. The fact is, home brewing is far more than just a satisfying hobby.

In a long term survival situation, this skill along with home brewing supplies can be the difference between feast and famine. There's no doubt about how people love beer in any part of the world.

It's bartering value is the most significant reason why people should brew their own beer. A lot of people would readily trade valuable items for beer even in survival mode.

Food is considered a crucial thing in these situations and there's always someone who would give you food in exchange for your precious beer.

Brew for Your Life

No matter what disasters lurk around the corner, just waiting to knock civilization off of its axis, people will still want their cigarettes, booze, chocolate bars, and other vices regardless of how long the crisis lasts.

In fact, when comfort is hard to come by and escaping reality is the only way to stay sane and make it through the day… they’ll pay ridiculous prices for these items.

This knowledge has almost become a cliché among the prepared, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

The unprepared will be willing to pay or do just about anything to get a fix when it is hard to come by. This has been proven true again and again throughout history.

Every single time a dictator outlaws a vice, every time an economic crisis leaves these items in short supply, and every time a war cuts off supply lines. Items like alcohol always find their way into the hands of those who want it, provided of course they are willing to pay dearly for it.

Unlike wine or spirits, beer has an expiration date. Therefore, stockpiling huge quantities of Shiner Bock in your basement wouldn’t do you much good when the SHTF. Unless you enjoy the taste of flat beer…

If you happen to be the only person in your community that knows how to brew a delicious Pale Ale, you would be a very popular trading partner indeed. You would be at a HUGE advantage in a barter economy.

Think about it. How much could you trade a six-pack for? Could you trade a pony keg for an actual pony? It’s highly possible…

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A Useful Hobby

We all need a hobby. But the best hobbies are those that help us prepare to be self-sufficient in a way that’s also fun and gratifying.

So that if we ever need to depend on the skills we’ve acquired while tinkering around on the weekends, we will be fully proficient. Learning about home brewing instructions is one of these life skills.

Brewing beer is just as fun in the here and now as it would be indispensable in a SHTF scenario. It’s also economical.

Once you’ve purchased your equipment, a lot of which you probably already own, you can crank out high-quality beer for as little as $3 a six-pack.

The Ins and Outs of Legal Brewing

In times of crisis, you never know what kinds of draconian laws or taxes may suddenly arise. But as I write this, brewing beer in your home for personal consumption is more or less “legal” in all 50 states… but laws vary widely.

As you can imagine, alcohol production is a heavily rated enterprise at almost every level, even on the smallest scale. And even though prohibition ended with the 21st Amendment, the authorities are not big fans of those they deem “bootleggers.”

In most states, alcohol is regulated by the volume you produce. In Texas, for example, home brewers can brew “no more than 200 gallons” of beer without a permit from The Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

The American Home Brewer's Association has put together an easy-to-use database to find out what’s permissible in your home state.

Watch this video for an introduction to home brewing by Default Name:

Learning to brew beer is a rewarding skill on every level. You’ll be a hit at parties, your friends will think you’re a genius, and you’ll have an extremely valuable skill should you ever need to thrive in a barter economy.

My advice is to dive in straight in then invest in some equipment. Good luck and Cheers!

Do you agree about home brewing being useful when SHTF? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!

UP NEXT:

• DIY Alcohol Stove from a Beer Can
• Blacksmithing: Useful Hobby and Survival Skill
• SURVIVAL SKILLS: Open A Can With Your Bare Hands

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 28, 2013, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

This Article Was First Found at survivallife.com Read The Original Article Here

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