The Hops Shortage

OK, the Chick is a week or two late jumping on the band wagon for this story. The truth is she wasn't going to address it at all, since there is only so much that can be said.

However, since some of you probably don't follow beer related news here's the skinny. Due to a combination of bad crops in Europe, a fire in the US and farmland lost to low prices in general there will be about 15% less hops available worldwide this coming year than usual. This will mean higher prices.

The ethanol craze is aslo driving the price of corn and other grains up.

Upshot, making beer is going to cost more so beer is going to cost more. I believe current estimates are about $1 a sixpack. There has been a lot of gloom and doom talk about costs forcing small breweries to close.

Some may. But for the most part, the American brewing industry survived Prohibition, it can probably survive one or two years of higher cost supplies.

And there is some good news here. Neccessity is the mother of innovation after all. The Chick thinks we may see some very interesting beers being offered as a result of the shortage. Hops have been a part of beer for a long time (since about 400 CE) but they haven't ALWAYS been a part of beer, which it is estimated has been around since about 600 BCE. By the Chick's count, that 1000 years.

So clearly, beer has been flavored with herbs other than hops in the past. We know the Scots used heather and the Chick has had some heather beers. They are quite good, with a grassier element than you generally get from hops.

The Chick thinks we are going to see a lot of craft and micro brewers gravitate to traditional (and non-traditional) hops alternatives in the next year or two. Which should be an extreamly interesting trent to watch (and partake of).