A COMBINATION OF DROUGHT CONDITIONS and a demand for more ethanol production, along with a hops shortage, will soon be driving prices of quality beers upwards.
There are only four ingredients in beer: Water, yeast, barley malt, and hops. Prior to bottling, the last three ingredients are filtered out, leaving only the delicious water and a bit of alcohol.
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Water is never a problem for brewers because they tend to locate where there is a reliable supply. And yeast can be grown in any quantity on short notice.
But the barley supply is hurting partly because of this year’s drought and the fact that many farmers switched over to corn this year. The sudden demand for increased ethanol production raised the price of corn to the point that it is much more profitable to grow than barley. A lot of the malted barley comes from Europe, but they had a poor harvest last year.
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barley field
Hops has suddenly come in short supply, leading to the largest cost burden on the brewers. Practically all of the hops raised in the U. S. are grown in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. But over the past 12 years about 80% of the hops farmers switched over to fruit orchards or developed their land for housing. Now in the past year hops prices have gone from $3 per pound up to $20 per pound.
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Washington hop yard
Add in the higher transportation costs because of fuel prices and we’re talking another $1 a six-pack for the good stuff. The only question that remains is, what do we cut back on so we can keep on buying our brew?
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a story on the local hops market HERE.
Prices sailing up for English barley too. The STORY.
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