The home brewers of the world should seriously think on establishing a relief organization like the doctors (Doctors without Borders) and the pilots did (Pilots without borders). When disaster strikes in an area, immediately volunteer home brewers are sent out to assist the local people in creating a healthy potable drink: beer.

What is the challenge? After disasters like hurricane Mitch, the water sources in under developed countries become undrinkable and the local population is in need for potable drinks. Their own breweries are demolished or the distribution system doesn’t work anymore. Roads and bridges are gone.

Volunteer home brewers could arrive on the spot within a matter of hours or days. They come with equipment and they could immediately start brewing simple beer. The organization of the home brewers should develop easy and simple recipes and procedures to brew healthy simple beer, using in part local grains. Easy methods to filter the local water at a certain degree can be learned. The bad germs will be killed anyway during the cooking and by the alcohol. Complete sets of home brewing equipment must be held at hand in warehouses of other relief organizations, to be shipped immediately to the troubled spots. These equipment sets must be designed to be able to brew without electricity. Several energy sources must be acceptable. Sets of cheap beer containers (foldable plastic is OK) must be defined and kept in emergency storage. Access to and transport of malts, hops and yeasts must be organized. Teach the locals to brew beer again, and everybody will have healthy potable drinks.
Brewers and beer have saved their fellow humans over and over again during the whole history of the world. Let not forget that the Gods gave us beer to survive the disasters of this world. The European monks obliged the mediaeval people to drink beer to survive the deadliest diseases.

What a splendid Public Relations effort that would be for beer, when the home brewers of America together with regular brewers could maintain such a relief organization. At the same time, it would teach the American public the importance of beer.
Newsletter January 1999