Cedar Rapids Weather
A Shortage of Beer?By Justin Foss, ReporterRelated Content
A shortage of hops has brewers giving sober stares.
"This last week, I've had a hard time sleeping," said Chris Priebe, Head Brewer at Millstream Brewing in Amana. Hops are forcing up the production price of beer for every brewer. "It's creating a little bit of a pinch, right now they're looking at the 2008 season and a shortage of 10-15%," said Brad McKinnon, General Manager of Granite City Food Brewery in Cedar Rapids. The price for a pound of hops has doubled this year, demand has risen 10-15% and brewers can't avoid the cost. "There aren't any that don't have any hops in them, except scotch," said Priebe. Generally, pale ales use the most hops, first giving it a flowery smell. "Then after you drink it, you get a strong bitterness and that's from the hops too," said Priebe. After years of profit-killing surplus, farmers across the world starting growing other crops, like corn. The fix will take years because hops come on vines which take time to grow. "A lot of the predictions are the craft beers will be running at $10 a 6-pack by the end of next year," said Priebe. Those same predictions say the problem will get worse, before it gets better. However, this shortage of hops won't affect all beers. Brews like Bud Light and Miller Lite, or any other typical domestic beer don't use many hops. More Good Stuff |
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