Beer Prices Follow Hops Costs Higher

The food price spikes Congress fueled with generous ethanol subsidies have been well documented. But one that may have escaped attention could cut into the revelry at some holiday parties.

Beer prices could rise as the cost of hops has skyrocketed, according to The Independent. While big brewers have locked in prices with longterm contracts, small craft brewers are looking at costs as much as six times as high as they were just a few months ago.

More farmers in the Northwest have swapped hops for corn, apparently, as the price per bushel rose to feed the ethanol boom, and European crops were down due to bad weather, and imports down further still due to the weak dollar.

COMMENTS ()