Hop and Barley Shortage

I don't know if many of you are aware but hop and barley prices are going to see a rise in cost this next year and some companies are seeing increase in prices as of now. I am one of them. Why is this happening? Due to the fact that farmers are growing more corn than they are barley and hops. The ethanol craze is among us and farmers are getting more money per acre of corn than per acre of barley.

With the current trend and rise in microbreweries popping up over the past few years and the dwindling amount of hops grown, supply and demand is fierce right now. Many breweries and suppliers have to sign contracts for hops harvested next year and beyond (and pay in advance for those hops). So there will be a spike in prices for at least the next two years, until hop growers catch up (it takes three years for one hop plant to come to maturity.). Already, brewers have seen a spike of about 70% in barley costs and as much as 100% in hops.

What does this mean? You're cost per pint is going to increase as well as your cost per batch of homebrew. This is something that we shouldn't go into "panic" mode. It's just going to take an addition 2-3 years to right itself and balance out. It's also going to mean that brewers may have to get a little more creative. Instead of having an arsenal of 25+ varieties of hops to select from, they may end up only having 12. It's going to be fun and interesting to see what is next in the latest trend of brewing!

New hop prices and grain prices will be updated as I am updated. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.