Easy Homebrew for When the SHTF or During Hard Times

bahh

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

To be honest, I don't know what could be used in lieu of malt syrup. I'm not really an experienced Brewer in general. I just have this one simple recipe that has worked well for me.

The malt syrup is easy to find though. Blue Ribbon brand is what I get.

As far as other additional flavorings go, I'm sure some hops would be good. Really, the potential flavorings are only limited by your imagination.

thanks for posting this

what could be used besides malt syrup?

what other things would you suggest to add for additional flavor that won't corrupt the process?

thanks. I have saved the recipe :)

LOL...

You could always try and get the recipe for some nice Belgian trappist beer from some abbey in Belgium. But there are so many amateur brewers around there I am sure all kinds of recipes must be easy to get your hands on.

Wine is easier and more percentage of alcohol.....last i made was raspberry merlot and it was gooooood but you do hafta buy it. Also..where are you gonna buy yeast when tshtf? unless you make your own and then you need a starter and you gotta keep it goin or it will go bad.

The old-timers around these parts collect yeast like this:

Cut a big potato in half lengthwise. Put it on a saucer and then place it on top of the hot water heater. Watch it for mold patches--scrape them off. If you see foam, it is yeast. Collect it and keep it in an airtight container in the root cellar.

I guess the yeast is carried by flies so you have to let them land on the potato.

how long before you get some yeasties?

Don't get me wrong, there are FAR better tasting recipes out there.

This recipe is the one my dad taught me and his dad taught him. They used to make it back on the farm when my dad was a boy.

It's simple to make and is composed of easily-obtainable, easily-storeable ingredients. In a POST-SHTF situation, you and your neighbors would be glad to have it.

Like I said, this isn't the best tasting brew and it won't impress the connoisseurs out there. It tastes something like Old Milwaukee.

Materials:

5 gal bucket
Towel
String

Ingredients:

1 can of malt syrup
1 5 lb bag of sugar
3 packets of yeast
5 gallons of warm water

Combine all ingredients into the 5 gal bucket and stir well. Try to get as much of the sugar and malt to dissolve as possible.

Cover the bucket with the towel and wrap a string around it to hold it on. This keeps the bugs out.

Put the bucket in a warm place. Right in your house is fine. You want it to stay about room temperature.

Leave it alone for 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks, take the towel off and you will see that the brew is foamy and smells like beer/bread. Stir it well and try to get everything that didn't dissolve before to dissolve this time. Cover it back up with the towel.

Leave it alone for 2 weeks.

After these two weeks, the brew is technically ready to drink but you'll probably want to further refine it. Here's how:

Filter the brew through the finest cloth you have. It will still be cloudy. That's fine.

Put the brew in sealed airtight containers (Mason jars are best). Leave for another week or two. This carbonates the brew and clears it up to some extent. Don't bother the containers of beer during this time. You'll see that whatever yeast remains will settle to the bottom in a thin white layer and the rest will be golden and clear.

After you've let your containers carbonate and settle, then they're ready to enjoy.

When you get to the bottom of the jar, just be careful not to stir up the thin white layer. But even if you do, it's fine.

A little bit of tweaking in your future batches will eliminate the sediment.

I can't wait to try my dubbel. Bottling this weekend

I think I waited to long to culture yeast from my wvestleteren 12... I should just go ahead and drink that already.

There are a lot of things we will be required to do for ourselves but getting drunk will not be a step in the positive direction.
Although, getting someone else drunk may be a way to help yourself take steps in a positive direction. Helping someone else get drunk to benefit yourself will not be an honorable profession.

You can also make wine from just about anything.

Here is a simple recipe for Dandelion wine. This recipe calls for a pound of raisins (for body) but you can actually use any fruit available, even rhubarb.


3 qts dandelion flowers
1 lb golden raisins
1 gallon water
3 lbs granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 orange
yeast and nutrient


Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. You do not need to pick the petals off the flower heads, but the heads should be trimmed of any stalk. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for two days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time. Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days. Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel. Strain and rack after wine clears, adding reserved pint of water and any additional required to top up. Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then rack again. Set aside 2 months and rack and bottle. This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will improve remarkably if allowed a year.

Hell there are even recipes for "oak leaf wine"...with those, you need to add some kind of citric acid though.

Above recipe courtesy of [link to winemaking.jackkeller.net]

Don't women produce yeast naturally?

Don't get me wrong, there are FAR better tasting recipes out there.

This recipe is the one my dad taught me and his dad taught him. They used to make it back on the farm when my dad was a boy.

It's simple to make and is composed of easily-obtainable, easily-storeable ingredients. In a POST-SHTF situation, you and your neighbors would be glad to have it.

Like I said, this isn't the best tasting brew and it won't impress the connoisseurs out there. It tastes something like Old Milwaukee.

Materials:

5 gal bucket
Towel
String

Ingredients:

1 can of malt syrup
1 5 lb bag of sugar
3 packets of yeast
5 gallons of warm water

Combine all ingredients into the 5 gal bucket and stir well. Try to get as much of the sugar and malt to dissolve as possible.

Cover the bucket with the towel and wrap a string around it to hold it on. This keeps the bugs out.

Put the bucket in a warm place. Right in your house is fine. You want it to stay about room temperature.

Leave it alone for 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks, take the towel off and you will see that the brew is foamy and smells like beer/bread. Stir it well and try to get everything that didn't dissolve before to dissolve this time. Cover it back up with the towel.

Leave it alone for 2 weeks.

After these two weeks, the brew is technically ready to drink but you'll probably want to further refine it. Here's how:

Filter the brew through the finest cloth you have. It will still be cloudy. That's fine.

Put the brew in sealed airtight containers (Mason jars are best). Leave for another week or two. This carbonates the brew and clears it up to some extent. Don't bother the containers of beer during this time. You'll see that whatever yeast remains will settle to the bottom in a thin white layer and the rest will be golden and clear.

After you've let your containers carbonate and settle, then they're ready to enjoy.

When you get to the bottom of the jar, just be careful not to stir up the thin white layer. But even if you do, it's fine.

A little bit of tweaking in your future batches will eliminate the sediment.

Unless a 5 gallon buckets holds more than 5 gallons, this is a recipe for a mess! use a bigger bucket or less ingredients I guess. Maybe get 2 of the 5 gallon buckets to divide the mixture into.

Go ahead and drink the yeast at the bottom of the jar. It is a source of vit.b.

Its a folder of things I've collected over the last few years on my computer. Most everything is printed out now and in 3 ring binders. But, I'd be glad to share links. Its various recipes for homemade cleaning products, hygiene products, pet needs, medicinal herbs, etc. We tried to think of all the various things that you just run to the store to buy now, but won't be able to when the SHTF.

When things get bad, alcohol will be considered currency. So will food. Bartering will once again become the trade system. Value will be determined based upon need.

It really is a beautiful system and makes much more sense.

This is a much preferred ideal but what's to stop people from banding together, overpowering and just taking what they want.

Realistically, your nice neighbor down the road might not think twice about offing you if it comes to feeding himself and his family.

Bartering does seem loving and humane, however.. I can't envision people not totally losing any sense of patience when this scenerio is played out in real time.

Beer is nutritious and a source of clean drinking. Plus, it certainly doesn't hurt morale to have a beer after working hard all day. Plus it gives you something to trade or to share with your neighbors.