Shortage of beer ingredients may mean higher prices

The Seattle Times ^ | 11-09-2007 | Shannon Dininny

[BigTex5]

Small brewers from Australia to Oregon face the daunting prospect of tweaking their recipes or experimenting less with new brews thanks to a worldwide shortage of one key beer ingredient and rising prices for others.

[gathersnomoss]

Oh, this is Seattle. Just substitute valium.

[1rudeboy]

All right, now this is getting out of hand . . . .

[martin_fierro]

" . . . "

[domenad]

Looks like I’m going to have to take some money out of my healthcare budget. Oh well, you want an omelet, you gotta break a few eggs.

[Thebaddog]

Not Brilliant!

[KarlInOhio]

I demand that the President release the strategic beer reserve.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Barley and wheat prices have skyrocketed as more farmers plant corn to meet increasing demand for ethanol, while others plant feed crops to replace acres lost to corn.

Arrggh!! FReepers have been telling us this would happen!

[Tarpon]

Ethanol strikes again. The glow-bull warming scam will bury us all, early.

Would someone explain to me how Ethanol CO2 is better than gasoline CO2? Take away the federal subsidies and ethanol will go away.

[cmsgop]

[woollyone]

BLOB!

[ctdonath2]

The relevant part:

Now the bright spot in the brewing industry is facing mounting costs on nearly every front. Fuel, aluminum and glass prices have been going up quickly over a period of several years. Barley and wheat prices have skyrocketed as more farmers plant corn to meet increasing demand for ethanol, while others plant feed crops to replace acres lost to corn.

A decade-long oversupply of hops that had forced farmers to abandon the crop is finally gone and harvests were down this year. In the United States, where one-fourth of the world's hops are grown, acreage fell 30 percent between 1995 and 2006.

Australia endured its worst drought on record. Hail storms across Europe damaged crops. Extreme heat in the western United States hurt both yields and quality.

Big brewers can hedge against rising prices for raw ingredients and can negotiate better, longer-term contracts for ingredients, while smaller brewers generally are left with whatever is left.

[martin_fierro]

lol

[posterchild]

No Blood for Beer!

[rocksblues]

This may be the final straw against food for fuel!

[Truth29]

Ten dollar six-packs vs. $6 dollar bottles of wine. Some chartist can predict where the rising beer prices will transfer demand to cheap wines.

[BigTex5]

Yep. Since I brew my own, I’ve been seeing the same thing. Prices keep creeping up and up.

[ArrogantBustard]

Ethanol CO2: Corn plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, converting it to carbohydrates. The process is called "photosynthesis". Corn is mashed and fermented, rendering Ethanol. Ethanol is burned in IC engine, returning CO2 to atmosphere. This is a round-about way of using solar power. Net CO2 contribution to atmosphere = 0.

Gasoline CO2: Petroleum is pumped out of the ground, and refined into gasoline. Gasoline is burned in IC engine, depositing CO2 in atmosphere. Net CO2 contribution to atmosphere > 0.

Now ... I'm not saying that this has anything to do with "climate change" ... but they aren't remotely the same.

[BigTex5]

If only I could stomach wine ;(

[50mm]

Global Warming Hysteria connection here. From the article:

Barley and wheat prices have skyrocketed as more farmers plant corn to meet increasing demand for ethanol, while others plant feed crops to replace acres lost to corn.

We are starting to see the folly of using corn for ethanol. Look for increases in cereal and bread prices. Since less corn is available for livestock feed, meat and dairy prices will soon be skyrocketing. Thank you, algore!