Posted on 01/26/2008 7:52:08 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
Small brewers line up to pay premium prices for scarce ingredients
Double-whammy shortages of two main ingredients are threatening to send the price of beer significantly higher, just in time for the national drinking holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday.
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In September, Martin paid $4 for a pound for hops. By late October, he said, it was $50 a pound. Likewise, barley prices have almost doubled in the same period.
Just a few weeks ago, George Peterson, owner of Central Coast Brewery in San Luis Obispo, Calif., spent $160 to brew a batch of beer equal to eight kegs. Last week, he was spending a staggering $920 per batch.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
What size batches are you brewing? Most IPA recipes use 4 oz. or less of hops per 5 gal. batch, which is still less than $10.
My last batch of bitter, brewed a month and a half ago, was still $25 or so to brew. Barley prices were unchanged ($.90/lb for 2-row, $1.15/lb for domestic, $1.79/lb for import) at my local brew store. Hops were up a bit, but not all that much.
$920 for 8 kegs works out to about $7.42/gallon just for ingredients. The article didn’t say what type of beer it was though. I’m still paying $3/pint and $6.75/ half gallon jug at my local microbrewery for stout and ales (think some of the other beers are up to 50% higher in half gallons). Either the impact is localized or my brewer is living on thinning margins.
Would like to try brewing my own. Recently got a copy of ‘How to Brew’ by John J. Palmer. Can one easily grow hops in a garden?
Rising beer prices could leave you tapped out....
congress and jorge should not give tax rebates....they should give beer rebates!!!!!
I make 10 gallon batches.
My “House IPA” uses 8 oz of Hops and 26 lbs of grain (yeah I know, its BIG).
It gets expensive quick.....
Cheers,
knewshound
Farmers make more money growing corn for ethanol (Federal Subidies) so some quit growing barley and hops.
LLS
Tastes just like 190 proof.
Far be it for you to actually pay attention to what the BLS is saying. Apparently you'd rather look at one or two commodity prices and make up what you think you hear.
Kudos for actually reading the story.
Per capita - Wisconsin.
Anheiser Busch (Bud) has contracted with growers for hops in South East Missouri. And they may be genetically enhanced because they have sought to block other hops growers because of the possibility of cross pollination of their own UNIQUE blend of hops. I am not up on the issue, just recall something in the news last year. Maybe because of the genetically altered issue and how it also relates to corn growers cross pollinating with hybrids not of their own planting and the patent claims by the Seed Corn Companies.
As for barley, I have no idea who or where is growing barley, but I would assume the big brewers also have claim to genetically altered supply contracts, limiting free lance growers access to seed stock.
The hops are for their St Louis Brewery, and maybe others.
Yes, once established they grow like weeds.
Making fuel out of food (well beer) is a stupid idea. That’s what we get when we elect non-conservative Republican’s.
Well then, I’m gonna start smuggling hops over the border
oh yeah, its the ethanol stupid.
In my 50 + years of living in farm country I have yet to know a barley farmer. But I do know lots of long time corn and bean farmers.
I would imagine the USDA has planting data as to how much barley is planted and where. And I would assume the amounts of Bushels of harvest have always been insignificant compared to corn planting.
And the major brewers are probably contracting directly with barley producers, buying up supply. Demand goes up, more producers cash in, the law of supply and demand.
Have you tried mead?
Honey is expensive too.
I just don’t like Mead.
Go figure....
Cheers,
knewshound
I think this should be part of the economic stimulus package, cut the price of beer (minorities hardest hit)
Price of a 40??
Can one easily grow hops in a garden?
http://www.freshops.com/rhizinfo.html for information, readily available varieties and and ordering.
An acre of farm land that can produce a year to year average of 150 bushels of corn costs ~$3000. At $4 a bushel that is $600 gross per acre. Now subtract out seed costs, fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, land taxes, and equipment costs, and you get about $300/acre. If you had to finance the land to purchase it, the interest is going to be about $240/acre. This leaves you roughly $60/acre profit. That may sound like a lot, but a single man can’t farm more than about 600 acres of crops, which means an actual income before income tax (taking out employer & employee withholding) of $36,000 for a tremendous amount of work.
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