Hops and Scarcity - Should we be Concerned? Articles | Beer

By: Darren Williger

There was a report in October of this year about shortage of hop and a possibility of hike in prices to meet the demand. The speculation is unprecedented and never heard before. Some say that price may skyrocket to all-time high. If you are a brewer, this certainly isn’t good news. Will this dampen your business? Keep reading!

According to the report, supply shortages are in range of 700 to 1,300 metric tons, which is equivalent to 8.6% - 15.5% of the annual demand all over world. What resulted in this shortage? There was a poor crop in and around Europe last year which led to the scarcity of Hop. This was caused due to heavy downpour of rains which ruined the crop. Australia too was affected due to a severe drought, while Canada’s hop production was average. England is on the verge of saturation as far as hop business is concerned.

110 metric tons of hops were lost due to fire caught in a warehouse in the US. This led to a dip in the production which subsequently impacted on the overall Hop market. To sum up, it’s been a pretty disappointing year for hop production and this certainly makes most of us to believe that hop is heading for a scarcity.

Approximately 1-2% of long term growth has been predicted for beer. But to everyone’s surprise, the annual growth has increased to approximately 3% in the past 10 years. During the same tenure, the world acreage for hops has diminished by 35%.

It’s a pity that craft breweries are shelling tens of thousands of dollars for something that won’t be of any use till the next year. A rise in the price for raw ingredients impacts the consumer by $1 per six-pack. We could either see an increase in the price of beer, or its quality will diminish.

Hops scarcity shall have a huge impact on the proceedings. While some varieties will face extinction, others will become so expensive that only few can afford. Homebrewers must prepare themselves and look for alternatives to hops that would replace varieties that currently are your favorites. We will encounter certain unpleasant changes till the situation is totally bought under control.

Some of the online homebrew retailers have raised price due to the scarcity and plenty of out of stock statements can be seen across places where ingredients for beer are sold. We have some or other solution for every problem. If the scarcity continues, one has the comfort to switch over to other forms of alcohol such as whisky, brandy, vodka etc. however, its easier said than done. For those who are addicted to beer, it might be a hard decision to switch over to something not used to. We must therefore find ways to increase production in the hops sector and offer beer at low prices and high quality.

There can’t be an overnight solution. But with planning and collective effort, beer manufacturers can rise above the occasion and find out solutions that improve the growth of hops and avoid scarcity.