Posted on 06/01/2008 4:28:44 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Bob Du Vernois brews beer with detailed consideration to aroma and taste, but it's last call on one of his favorite varieties.
A worldwide shortage of hops has depleted the supplies available to brewers, particularly for some of the specific blends that craft brewers have made their specialties. The shortage is the result of recent drought in Australia and flooding in Europe that destroyed much of their crops, forcing brewers overseas to turn to U.S. hops supplies that already were strained by a movement to plant more profitable crops like corn.
Coupled with rising fuel costs, the shortage has hops prices skyrocketing from $5 per pound to as much as $45. That's sent beermakers raising their prices and breweries altering popular recipes.
The shortage has hit smaller craft brewers -- who often buy hops on the spot market -- particularly hard. Large breweries usually contract hop purchases a few years out, but they too have been forced to boost prices in response to a higher costs for barley, another key ingredient. In April, the federal government reported that the price of beer purchased at retail outlets rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier, slightly higher than the overall rate of inflation.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Beer.
Bet me. I've cut by beer consumption in half to about 3 beer per week.
The only way to fight these higher and higher prices is just buy fewer and fewer products.
Thems fighting words!
LOL!
Yeah, I used to buy a quality 6 pack per week. That same 6 pack now lasts me almost two weeks.
I can play the greed game *much* better than all those jacking up their prices at ever turn.
It’s gets too expensive, I’ll stop drinking it.
Many of us have had to settle for Old Milwaukee and lots and lots of ice.......
Every time something goes up, we either purchase less, or find a better deal, or just leave it on the shelf.
Like gas, we are using much less of that too, as we combine trips when we forced to drive.
Oh, I used to drink cheap beer too, years ago. Lost my taste for it, switched to higher end beer, and I just purchase much less of it, and always look for the best prices.
Eventually most everyone will be forced to do the same, and then watch prices begin to plummet.
I've turned being cheap into a fun hobby.
No time Sam. But a good idea for those that can.
I’m lucky if I drink a six a month. I binged this week and drank two beers.
How are you getting around the higher prices of the ingredients?
As with fuel, not costing enough. The drunken, drug-addicted neighbors continue to issue “rebel yells” and drive their cellulite transports (”ATVs,” “quads”) just to get across their yards. ;-)
Let’s see...
Bottled 5 gallons last week of a nice hoppy lager.
10 gallons of stout to brew this summer.
Hops vines about 5 feet high already and looking healthy.
What I’m really worried about is a shortage of beer nuts.
So, you grow your own hops. What else can you provide on the cheap to keep your costs down?
You’ve got my attention.......
Like many others, I don’t drink like a 19 year old frat boy. I usually consume less than 4 pints over a week’s time. If I really was hardcore, I’d do all grain brewing but I just don’t have the time. Maintaining a yeast culture for my favorite brew would be good, too. Stopper top bottles and a small cornelius keg (3 gal.) eliminate bottling costs (actually ‘found’ most of my keg equipment), Craig’s list always has brewing equipment for sale - cheap, bulk purchase of barley can probably be malted at home for small batches reasonably well. Finally, since I keep bees, I’m going to give a whack at a honey wiesen beir some time, too.
How’s the bee thing this year?? Are we running out of bees, as we have been told?
There are serious troubles with the bees, but it’s not the end of the world. Makes good hype for end-of-the-world-ers, though. CCD is a threat, but secondary, IMO, to mites. Despite the whining of the MSM, GMO’s and SUV’s are not the cause either.
Global hops shortages are a worse threat.
It's summer time, go out and catch you a jar full of fire flies.
Thanks. I always believed it was the mites.
“ERRRRRRRRPPPP!!!”
ButThreeLeftsDo wrote:
Many of us have had to settle for Old Milwaukee and lots and lots of ice.......
No way I could do that. I’ve started taking the bus to work when I can. The 7$ a day I save in gas helps me keep buying my favorite beer. I didn’t start taking the bus just to save beer money...That’s what I tell my wife anyway.
Bringing my lunch and downsizing my morning coffee knocked another 8$ off my daily expenses. It’s not a ton of cash, but it gives me extra for the weekend.
No fire flies here, or sparrow sized bugs.
LEDs work great, can run um all year for a few cents. Home theater area is even lit by solar lights...Makes for a great atmosphere...
Being cheap has tuned into a fun hobby.
"Tuned"?
Saving wear and tear on your "R" key?
Just kidding, I know a typo when I see one. I just couldn't help myself.
You can tuna piano but you can't tuna fish. I don't know what this has to do with beer but there you go.
OK, I fined tuned into a fun hobby...ha..
Speaking of keys...I just looked down at my A and E keys, and have almost worn the letters away. Writing/typing extensive reports for a living really sucks...But it beats roofing.
lager and stout but no porters?
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