An opportunity in wolf’s clothing

October 9th, 2008

US beer sales are rising, conversely so are commodity costs….not to mention a mounting shortage in hops. In the article linked below, the Wall Street Journal describes this “perfect storm” for breweries and its impact on some of our favorite beers’ recipes.

Some facts:

- Since the summer of 2007, the cost of hops went from around $4 a pound to $30. Consequently, smaller brewers (like Troegs) who do not have contracts with hop farms, have had to pay the higher costs, as a result higher retail prices or switch production volume to pilsners, stouts, and wheat beers.
- As hop prices have risen, so has demand for hoppy beers. In fact, IPA sales have risen over 12% roughly from last year.

The ol’ saying goes, when life hands you lemons you make lemonade. As commodity prices and demand increase, let’s hope that breweries use this opportunity to branch out their recipes and find some creative (and tasty) ways to please our palates. Moreover, it just seems like a great opportunity to reinvigorate the brewing of lagers and porters and halt the hop-madness (can you say Quad Imperial Hoppin’ Mad American IPA) that has smothered a number of small breweries and brewpubs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122332274798008703.html#

Cheers, Frank

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