Hops Shortage Sharpens! Beer Prices on the Rise!
Published by Jason February 25th, 2008 in Uncategorized. Share This
>As Joel wrote earlier this month, there is a hops shortage on. King5.com, a news outlet in the Seattle area, is reporting that the hops and a malted barley shortage are going to force beer prices up!
At Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville, spokespeople say their production costs have gone way up. And they aren’t alone - other microbrew makers are reporting the cost of beer making is up because hops and barley prices have shot up. And that means you’ll be seeing the difference on store shelves.
Could this be the end of affordable beer?
Hops shortage spiking up beer prices [King5.com]
Affordable beer will still be around. Budweiser et al can afford to import large quantities at cheaper prices. Affordable good beer on the other hand…
Every microbrewery I’ve spoken to has said there will be about $1 increase per 6-pack on average. Pints at your local microbrewery might be going up 50 cents to $1. At one of our local microbreweries, sixth barrels went up $5 and kegs went up $15. Overall it could be a lot worse. I think hops take about 3 years to produce, so we’ll probably be stuck with these prices until ‘09 or ‘10.