Forget the Oil! What About the Hopps?

By way of the Burned Over District, we find out that there is a global hopps shortage:

A worldwide shortage of a key beer ingredient, hops, is causing beer prices to spike, beer batches to be delayed, and talk of your favorite pale ales being forced to (gulp) mellow out.

Already, in Charlotte, retailers are reporting that beers from smaller, “craft” breweries have risen about $1 per six-pack this year, with more increases coming as brewers pass on the cost of a five- to tenfold increase in hops prices.

That’s if the brewers can find any hops at all.

So whom do we invade to fix this?

Comments

#1 Edward
March 7, 2008

Just let them drink wine!
#2 chezjake
March 7, 2008

We just need to bring back hop growing in areas where it once flourished. Back before prohibition most of the hops for breweries on the east coast of the US was grown in Schoharie County, NY and in the area on the south slopes of the Poconos in PA. These are areas with limestone based soils and slopes that face the sun for a good part of the day — ideal for growing flavorful hops. After WW II, very large scale culture of hops was begun in the Pacific Northwest, and economies of scale and the emergence of national brewing companies killed the smaller scale operations in the east.

We will get more hops, but it’ll take a couple years. Hops is a perennial crop, and requires a couple years to become productive.

I raise my bottle of Sam Adams Boston Ale to the Mad Biologist.
#3 Joshua
March 8, 2008

The real question is: how will this impact Skeptics in the Pub?
#4 Markus Mencke
March 8, 2008

>So whom do we invade to fix this?
Germany.

More specific, the Hallertau region (Bavaria); some sources say that alone accounts for 25 % of the hops world production.

Prost!
#5 Michael Schmidt
March 10, 2008

Why do you spell “hopps” like that? The article doesn’t. Neither do I.
#6 mirc
March 19, 2009

thanks
#7 metin2 hile
December 21, 2010

prohibition most of the hops for breweries on the east coast of the US was grown in Schoharie County, NY and in the area on the south slopes of the Poconos in PA. These are areas with limestone based soils and slopes that face the sun for a good part of the day — ideal for growing flavorful hops. After WW II, very large scale culture of hops was begun in the Pacific Northwest, and economies of scale and the emergence of national brewing companies killed the smaller scale operations in the east.

We will get more hops, but it’ll
#8 Wold News
December 22, 2010

most of the hops for breweries on the east coast of the US was grown in Schoharie County, NY and in the area on the south slopes of the Poconos in PA. These are areas with limestone based soils and slopes that face the sun for a good part of the day — ideal for growing flavorful hops. After WW II, very large scale culture of hops was begun in the Pacific Northwest, and economies of scale and the emergence of national brewing thanks.