How ethanol is ruining my drinking experience.
More and more farmers are turning to corn production to fill the demand for ethanol. The problem (or ONE problem) is that more corn means less barley, and less barley means higher barley prices, and higher barley prices translate into higher beer prices. According to what the homebrew-store-guy told me, and what I’ve read online, this isn’t just a 10 cent or 5% increase here, malted barley prices are expected to rise somewhere between 50-100% for this upcoming year. The increase in barley prices is pretty substantial, but the real kicker that’s going to have a grander effect (not just on prices) is the shortage of hops this year. The homebrew-store-guy also told me to expect an increase of around 150% but one example cited the price of hops going up from around $3 per pound to $11 per pound. That’s an increase of around 400%.
Regular beers are going to have issues with these prices going up, but I think smaller craft/microbreweries are going to really suffer. Megabreweries (Coors, Bud, etc.) use a substantial amount of rice/corn adjuncts instead of mostly barley (with some wheat) that microbreweries tend to use, and microbreweries tend to do a lot more fancy and interesting beers that require infinitely more hops that a Bud Light would call for. Double/Triple IPA's, IPA’s, bitters, pale ales, and any hop-heavy beer will likely be made in reduced quantities or experience drastic price increases. Since the cause of the increase in price is due to a massive shortage, some breweries are not going to even be able to obtain all the hops they would normally have, so it’s not just about affordability and price increases - some places may not be able to produce the same beers due to the lack of availability.
The shortage of hops is an unlucky combination of widespread drought around the world, hailstorms in Europe, and fewer farmers producing hops due to surplus in previous years which caused farmers to reduce their hop production. One figure was something like 50% less hops are being grown in the Pacific Northwest. Homebrew-store-guy suggested that this would probably right itself in 2 years or so, supply and demand, hopefully better weather, etc.
Prognosis?
$10 for a 6 pack, an extra $1 or so for a pint in a bar, pricier kegs, etc.
Who is to blame?
Global warming affecting weather patterns?
Increased demand for ethanol production?
Reduced farmland due to development and reduced demand?
Also, Ethanol: maybe not such a good idea? Read this:
“Ethanol, when used as a fuel, is a net energy waste.”
Regular beers are going to have issues with these prices going up, but I think smaller craft/microbreweries are going to really suffer. Megabreweries (Coors, Bud, etc.) use a substantial amount of rice/corn adjuncts instead of mostly barley (with some wheat) that microbreweries tend to use, and microbreweries tend to do a lot more fancy and interesting beers that require infinitely more hops that a Bud Light would call for. Double/Triple IPA's, IPA’s, bitters, pale ales, and any hop-heavy beer will likely be made in reduced quantities or experience drastic price increases. Since the cause of the increase in price is due to a massive shortage, some breweries are not going to even be able to obtain all the hops they would normally have, so it’s not just about affordability and price increases - some places may not be able to produce the same beers due to the lack of availability.
The shortage of hops is an unlucky combination of widespread drought around the world, hailstorms in Europe, and fewer farmers producing hops due to surplus in previous years which caused farmers to reduce their hop production. One figure was something like 50% less hops are being grown in the Pacific Northwest. Homebrew-store-guy suggested that this would probably right itself in 2 years or so, supply and demand, hopefully better weather, etc.
$10 for a 6 pack, an extra $1 or so for a pint in a bar, pricier kegs, etc.
Who is to blame?
Global warming affecting weather patterns?
Increased demand for ethanol production?
Reduced farmland due to development and reduced demand?
Also, Ethanol: maybe not such a good idea? Read this:
“Ethanol, when used as a fuel, is a net energy waste.”
posted by -Peter- at
5:07 PM
1 Comments:
On one hand, I'm not too broken up due to my severe aversion to bitters, but beer going up in price is bad for everyone. So is Ethanol, in every way, shape and form. You should check the trailer for "King Corn" over at the Apple trailer site.
At least my precious hefe's won't be as affected as bad, but it's still shitty for all decent, hardworking beermen such as yourself and beerdrinkers such as myself. There's a lot of selves at risk.
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