What do you think of my theory?

[demonrichie]

Over the last couple of years ive watched a lot of shows about the end of civilization. After seeing what survivors would need to survive ive come to a conclusion...Homebrewers and Home distillers would be the best off. Heres what ive come up with. let me know what you think and add as you wish.

-As gasoline becomes rarer and rarer ethanol and methanol based fuels will be key(eg. vehicles generators etc...)
-We will be able to have a drink and relax throughout the stressful times
-We could use the ethanol/methanol as weapons to defend our survival necessities(molotov cocktails)
-We would be able to distill water in our stills making it safer to drink
-When bartering replaces money alcohol will be easily tradeable for food and necessities

Am i right? I know its not very lkely such a situation would happen but you never know.

[maheel]

your right.......

the end is nigh

[ScottishBoy]

Inititally this may be so...but in the end, it will all come down to who can make and maintain the greatest number of weapon resources.
When someone puts a gun to your head and says "Hey, you get to distill AND live."...well there just isnt a whole lot to say..is there?

[demonrichie]

yeah scottishboy your point is valid but under the bartering you could also trade whiskey and beer for a bigger gun then those tryin to stick you up. this defintely brings up another point too that you could hire mercenaries with alcohol and since they will need fuels to work making alcohol fuels gives you a good tool...just gotta make sure they dont turn on you

[LWTCS]

Man.
Only enemies and potential enemies sounds like.

[ScottishBoy]

One of my areas of study is post-event dynamics. I have gotten to study this quite thoroughly, but that doesnt make me an expert. The distiller will most likely have what is know as a gauranteed position within a post event society, but they will most likely not be able to hold a position of authority for extended lengths of time.
BUT...it is a skill that is worthy of preservation and Im pretty certain the skill could be used to secure a comfortable living in the right circumstances.

Thats actually the reason I came back to stilling..

The joke around the house is that Im preparing for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse.

[LWTCS]

Wish I knew all that Dnder knows.

[ScottishBoy]

He a field observer?

[LWTCS]

Not sure what you mean by that SB. But I recon he is a right smart feller.

[ScottishBoy]

I dont think there is a man here ( who is a regular) who I wouldnt say is "smart and willing to take a chance". When I used to do Psychology, I used to explain to people that an IQ test isnt a measure of how smart you are, its a measure of how many tools you have in your toolbox. Some people have all kinds of tools, but dont use them. Some folks aint got but one or two, but they can do it all with them.
You guys all have the tools AND the skills.
In my book thats a good thing.

[ScottishBoy]

As gasoline becomes rarer and rarer ethanol and methanol based fuels will be key(eg. vehicles generators etc...)

While it may replace certain items, the conversion of engines to ethanol might prove difficult for many. Many hard lessons would be learned when engines sieze and gaskets dissolve. Some lucky few will succeed. Even then, there may be parts issues to deal with.

-We will be able to have a drink and relax throughout the stressful times

If the times are THAT stressful, then I will swear off drinking all together to allow myself the extra 10% chance to stay alive, allocating the alcohol to medicines and disinfectants.

-We could use the ethanol/methanol as weapons to defend our survival necessities(molotov cocktails)

Molotov cocktails are a coin flip weapon. They can just as easily turn on you as work in your favor. Any weapon that has damage over time aspects is like this can turn on you. You would want to be extra careful with them. It would probably be more safe to use the alcohol as fuel to stay warm or gas to run a chainsaw.

-We would be able to distill water in our stills making it safer to drink

In most cases this would be true, however you cannot remove radiation or low vap poisons with a still. Rads stay with you for a long time.

-When bartering replaces money alcohol will be easily tradeable for food and necessities

This will most likely be the largest draw for this. It proved itself before the whiskey rebellion and it still serves now. Its the distribution of it and the type of people who will need it that will get you killed. In a post event world, there is no law to hold the herd together, so there is nothing to stop someone from killing you to get what they want. Alcohol as currency has been used successfully in the past and it will probably work in a post event as well. If I were a trader and worked a deal, I would be getting the hell out of there very quickly however. Take a barely civil trade, add the fact there is no real law and then give them something that tends to make people more dangerous and impulsive. Yeah, I'm not sleepin in town tonight. The larger the quantity, the more danger youre in.
Im thinking moonshining in a post event world wont be too dissimilar to what it was in the 20's. Except it wont be the cops you will be worried about.

Am i right? I know its not very lkely such a situation would happen but you never know.

Hopefully we will never have to answer that question, but at any given time there are over 50 different MIlitary conflicts in the world. One could say its a mathematical certainty that one of those will flare up enough to cause damage.

[regulardaddy]

I've been a full-time blacksmith for 18 years...

Come with me if you want to live.

[MuleKicker]

This shit is gettin heavy

[regulardaddy]

Between Grandma and Granddad I learned how to do all kinds of stuff. I don't worry about it as much as some

[ScottishBoy]

Its all fun n' Games till you have to hook up your first whipple tree....
Thats when the poser's go home and the plowboys feed towns.

I dont recall anyone mentioning the word "worry" in their descriptions.

...just gotta make sure they dont turn on you

I probably dont need to go into how many ways this could go wrong...
Just sayin...always expect the unexpected.

[condensificator]

I've been a full-time blacksmith for 18 years...

Come with me if you want to live.

indeed! i'm a blacksmith as well, not full time, but fully functional for about 10yrs. figger i'll have a line around the county if the crazy sh*t ever hits fans...

high power barter we'll have...fixing broken stuff, forging new tools/weapons...and of course, a couple bottles of whiskey!


(not to mention, i gots a sh*t ton of guns/ammo)
...i'm not a crazy conspiracy survivalist nut, but i WAS a boyscout, and the "always be prepared" motto really stuck with me. i'm not worried about much, because i'm prepared for just about anything.

[condensificator]

fire is cool!

used a lot of coal, but found propane to be much more convenient for project type stuff. turn it on when you need to get something hot, turn it off when yer done....no starting fire, no tending fire, no clinker, no junk in yer welds...just do it.

i've done a bunch of research about charcoal as forging fuel, but have not put it to practical use. if i ever needed to (like if sh*t hits fan), figger wouldn't be too hard to get going, and with all the wood i'ma gonna have to build to fire the still, should have an abundance of charcoal!

[demonrichie]

Since people are thinking of coming after you for your alcohol consider this... we are already doing somethng that is illegal in most places and it dont matter if you have a can of beans or a 40 of booze someones guna be after it the difference is were already used to keeping an eye out while most dont. thus another survival advantage and possibly the most necessary one.

[regulardaddy]

used a lot of coal, but found propane to be much more convenient for project type stuff. turn it on when you need to get something hot, turn it off when yer done....no starting fire, no tending fire, no clinker, no junk in yer welds...just do it.

No hair left on your knuckles!

[Ayay]

When the sh!t hits sugar will be more valuable than alc. Plant fruit trees and keep bees. Growing grains is hard without petrolium.

[Dnderhead]

I agree with that, Iv seen it before.first thing to go will be imports,next prices of domestic foods will skyrocket.
and"food wars" just to big of split between those that have and those that dont.so if you want to keep making
learn to use what is in your area,if you like it or not.

[demonrichie]

I agree with that, Iv seen it before.first thing to go will be imports,next prices of domestic foods will skyrocket.
and"food wars" just to big of split between those that have and those that dont.so if you want to keep making
learn to use what is in your area,if you like it or not.

im in canada and if your location of 'up north' is anywhere near here you know canada is an abundance of exports when the sh!t hits the fan and exporting stops were gonna have the stockpile. same with people in southern farming states and farming areas in europe. Which brings me back to the watchng our back skill cause all the cities and towns who dont have farming land are gonna come trying to raid and we'll be the only ones ready

[JethroBodine]

Communities that are already inplace with structure, discipline, and rank( militias, organized crime, ships) will be the way to go. They already work together for the common good of the group and have the balls/ training/ experience to do what it takes to get a job done. Individuals, like us, with multiple tallents could garner places in these communities in exchange for work and knowlege. Individuals/ small groups could succeed by staying off the radar, so to speak, if they have good hunter/ gatherer skills. Agreed, farmers/ cattle ranchers/ fishing operations would be heavily sought out and large cities would be hell. Too many mouths and not enough production. What good is a slaughter house if all the cattle are 1000 miles away? Things should calm down after a while, and here in the US anyway, I'd like to think we'd get back to a pre industrial revolution set up and concentrate on the more important things in life like making some GOOD whiskey

[pistachio_nut]

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[coctailgirl]

Hahaha very nice theory, here is mine:

If world would come to an end only women-distillers can survive, because; men can't cook they would starve to death lol

[Ayay]

Good cookin an good alc...Cocktailgirl I'd marry you next lifetime but then you'll be a monk an Il'l be a dutifull housewife.

Life sucks

[Cornellius]

Hahaha very nice theory, here is mine:

If world would come to an end only women-distillers can survive, because; men can't cook they would starve to death lol

Well my dear, if that is the case I shouldn't be cooking for you anymore.

[coctailgirl]

Hahaha very nice theory, here is mine:

If world would come to an end only women-distillers can survive, because; men can't cook they would starve to death lol

Well my dear, if that is the case I shouldn't be cooking for you anymore.

Meeooww! That's not fair! I want my beef on my plate when I come home did you hear me man?! lol

[coctailgirl]

Good cookin an good alc...Cocktailgirl I'd marry you next lifetime but then you'll be a monk an Il'l be a dutifull housewife.

Life sucks

aaww, that's terrible luck lol