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 zorbman
blarrr
Registered: 06/04/04
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 Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. 
#8893414 - 09/07/08 09:21 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Store-bought beer prices are eventually expected to rise as much as 2$ a sixpack. Large brewers have pre-paid for their hops so the old prices are locked in for now.
Hops Shortage Likely to Boost Price of Beer
Brace yourselves, lovers of India pale ales, pilsners, and craft beers of all kinds. There's a hop shortage brewing.
It's a bitter pill for everyone concerned. Brewers may have to adjust some recipes or stop making certain styles, and consumers will notice increased prices.
For years, American craft brewers have been adding hops to their beer with gleeful abandon. There's been a glut of the aromatic flowers that are one of the four basic ingredients in most beers - along with water, yeast, and barley malt. The oversupply and consequent low prices have had brewers pouring Cascade, Amarillo, Columbus, and other varieties into the brew kettle in huge quantities, giving rise to supercharged double IPAs and imperial pilsners.
But in the past couple of years a series of unfortunate events has made hops hard to come by. A fire at a warehouse in Washington's Yakima Valley in 2006 destroyed surplus from past years' harvests. Hail storms in Germany and Slovenia killed some crops and low rainfall in other areas of Europe led to lower-than-expected yields. Many producers in the hop mecca of the Northwest have been driven out of business by low prices and have sold their land to developers.
"All those beautiful old hop farms [in Washington state] are now beautiful gated communities," says Tod Mott, brewmaster at the Portsmouth Brewery in New Hampshire.
Hops give beers distinctive flavors and aromas, so brewers use precise amounts of various kinds to achieve the tastes they're after. High alpha acid hops such as Simcoe and Columbus are used in the boiling process to give beer bitterness; aroma hops such as Cascade and Willamette are used at the finish to add delicate citrusy, grassy, and flowery aromas. Other varieties, such as Northern Brewer and Centennial, do double duty as both aroma and bittering hops.
Many small producers, who often buy hops as they need them on the "spot market," are scrambling to find the hops they want, or any hops at all. (Much larger producers, such as Anheuser-Busch, aren't as affected because they have long-term contracts with hop growers.)
Though the Boston Beer Co. is insulated from this hop crisis because it contracts directly with German growers, it was affected in an unexpected way. The company produces the Samuel Adams line of beers, but it also holds the LongShot homebrew contest each year. Winners have their recipes brewed and distributed nationwide by Sam Adams. But this year, says Boston Beer Co. founder Jim Koch, one of the LongShot winners called for hop varieties not used in the Sam Adams beers. So while Sam Adams could get the Tettnang, Hallertau, and other varieties it uses in its own beers, it couldn't find the hops to make the contest winner.
As for brewers who planned ahead and ordered enough of the 2007 crop, they are facing steep price increases.
"Prices have gone up double, triple, quadruple," says Ralph Woodall, director of sales forHopunion, which buys hops from producers worldwide and sells to craft breweries. Woodall, who has been in the business for 25 years, says this hop shortage "is the worst I've ever seen."
"Two of my favorite hops are going to be astronomical," says Mott, the Portsmouth brewer. "Columbus, which is my favorite for my imperial pilsner, is $25 a pound" - up from about $7 per pound, if you can find them at all.
Some brewers are faced with having to substitute available varieties for ones they're unable to get, while trying to maintain the same flavor and aroma.
"We had to revise one batch of one recipe this year," says David Wilson, head brewer at The Tap in Haverhill. He returned to the original recipe once he was able to find his preferred hops again. But because of the shortage, he adds, "We're probably going to start brewing beers that are a little less hoppy and a little more malty."
At Cambridge Brewing Co., brewmaster Will Meyers says that the price of a pint will probably go up enough to cover increased costs. And while he'll still be making a lot of very big, hoppy beers, "We're going to be a lot less cavalier about how many hops we use."
Still, as all cooks know, having to improvise is sometimes good. Meyers will be experimenting with herbs in his brews. "Times of adversity bring out the best in creativity," he says.
Aaron Mateychuk, head brewer at Watch City Brewing in Waltham, agrees. Mateychuk says that his brewpub will also be raising prices a little. He's been trying out botanical ingredients like bee balm to substitute for hops.
"It will be interesting to see how I can work around [the hops]," Mateychuk says. "It'll be a challenge."
Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/01/09/with_fewer_hops_prices_jump/
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“The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
Edited by zorbman (09/08/08 08:52 AM)
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Brainiac
Rogue Scientist
Registered: 04/29/06
Posts: 13,259
Loc: 與您的女朋 
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 Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: zorbman]
#8893446 - 09/07/08 09:26 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Good i never really care for bitter beers...Trappest/wheat only...
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 Fair is Fair 
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story
Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. *DELETED* [Re: zorbman]
#8895570 - 09/08/08 10:18 AM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Post deleted by LunarEclipseReason for deletion: u
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Anxiety is what you make it.
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Holydiver
Stranger
Registered: 03/19/01
Posts: 5,156
Loc: The midnight sea
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: LunarEclipse]
#8895651 - 09/08/08 10:39 AM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Growing hops is the way to go and easy--the end product is amazing (fresh beer with fresh harvested hops that is).
They also grow like a nuisance weed and if you get a couple stakes going, you will have them growing everywhere.
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zorbman
blarrr
Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: LunarEclipse]
#8895668 - 09/08/08 10:44 AM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Awesome. How much beer will you be able to brew with one pound?
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“The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,894
Loc: Earth
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: zorbman]
#8897101 - 09/08/08 04:19 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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That article was from January. The hop shortage should be resolved in a couple years with all the planting that was done months ago. Many price increases took place in the first quarter of this year, but the main reason is the increase of price in malt due to the demand for biofuels. A lot of brands out there are doing fine because they had contracts going, but the hop supply out of Australia and New Zealand have done well, which is why you are finding them used in breweries now. Sierra Nevada did a Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale which used hops from New Zealand, and it was excellent.
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zorbman
blarrr
Registered: 06/04/04
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: daussaulit]
#8897135 - 09/08/08 04:24 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
That article was from January.
Yes I know. I did a search and didn't find any existing thread on the subject so I thought people might be interested in the story.
That is bad news about using barley for biofools. If I were a politician I don't think I'd want a lot of beer drinking voters pissed off at me for jacking up their prices!
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“The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
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 NiamhNyx
I'm NOT a 'he'
Registered: 09/01/02
Posts: 3,198
Last seen: 14 years, 10 months
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: zorbman]
#8897778 - 09/08/08 06:22 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Good thing I brew without hops! There are hundreds of wonderful bittering herbs out there, perhaps this will be provide a wonderful incentive for experimentation. Maybe craft brewers will finally put a decent gruit out on the market...?
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Holydiver
Stranger
Registered: 03/19/01
Posts: 5,156
Loc: The midnight sea
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: NiamhNyx]
#8897979 - 09/08/08 07:03 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
NiamhNyx said:
There are hundreds of wonderful bittering herbs out there, perhaps this will be provide a wonderful incentive for experimentation.
I agree. Got any links or recipes to good alternatives?
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To find a place to live between the negatives and positives.
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,894
Loc: Earth
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: NiamhNyx]
#8898021 - 09/08/08 07:08 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Cambridge Brewing Company sometimes has a gruit on tap. Unfortunately, one of the many properties of hops are a natural preservative for the beer. Without hops, shelf life would be drastically shortened. Heather Ale Ltd. has Froach Heather Ale. It's not bad. I don't know what they do to the beer, but I'd assume they pasteurize it. The website is down so I can't pull up any additional information.
Whether it's distributed where you live is a different story.
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NiamhNyx
I'm NOT a 'he'
Registered: 09/01/02
Posts: 3,198
Last seen: 14 years, 10 months
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: daussaulit]
#8898488 - 09/08/08 08:27 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Many herbs commonly used for bittering beer are just as strongly preservative as hops. Bitter generally = preservative.
Fraoch is awesome.
this is a recipe I recently invented and brewed, and it's damn tasty stuff.
I also highly recommend the book "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" by Stephen Buhner. Don't mind the fruity new age name and the terrible cover, it's a great book packed with great recipes and history!
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SFsorrow
Is Born
Registered: 11/11/07
Posts: 259
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: NiamhNyx]
#8904467 - 09/09/08 09:33 PM (15 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thanks for the time warp! I'll come back again.
Hops, hopefully, will be grown more next season as farmers will cash in on their high prices (if corn subsidies do not get out of hand). Also, the average 5 gallon batch of home brewed beer uses about 2oz of hops (for a really mellow beer), thus expect to be able to make 40 gallons off a pound.
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story
Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. *DELETED* [Re: zorbman]
#9193908 - 11/06/08 08:13 AM (15 years, 5 months ago) |
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Post deleted by LunarEclipseReason for deletion: ho
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Anxiety is what you make it.
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AKA PC
Every One
Registered: 11/24/02
Posts: 378
Last seen: 3 years, 6 months
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Re: Brew your own beer? Global hops shortage looms.. [Re: LunarEclipse]
#9196572 - 11/06/08 04:32 PM (15 years, 5 months ago) |
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i've seen some double IPA recipes that call for upwards of 13oz of hops.  thats a lota hops! i dont think i like IPA's quite that much.
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