BAD NEWS FOR BEER DRINKERS!!
View attachment 2374
Forget gas prices: Beer is going up
Brewmasters say shortage of barley and wheat will raise beer prices. Fans of boutique beers will be hardest hit.
October 26 2007: 3:43 PM EDT
SUNNYSIDE, Wash. (AP) -- Fans of Snipes Mountain Brewery's cloudy Hefeweizen relish the subtle wheat flavor of the bright, summery brew, and like beer drinkers everywhere, they know when their favorite brew tastes a little too hoppy or bitter.
Connoisseurs could be in for a surprise this year, and they may not be alone.
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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.
Oh, and one other thing: Beer prices are likely to climb. How high is anybody's guess. Craft brewers don't have the means to hedge against rising prices, like their industrial rivals.
"I'm guessing, at a minimum, at least a 10 percent jump in beer prices for the average consumer before the end of the year," said Terry Butler, brewmaster at central Washington's Snipes Mountain.
Sales have been relatively flat in recent years among the country's big three brewers -
Anheuser-Busch Cos (
Charts,
Fortune 500).,
Molson Coors Brewing Co (
Charts,
Fortune 500). and SABMiller PLC. unit Miller Brewing Co - while small, independent brewers have experienced tremendous growth. The craft brewing industry experienced a 12 percent increase by volume in 2006, with 6.7 million barrels of beer. Sales among microbreweries, which produce less than 15,000 barrels per year, grew 16 percent in 2006.
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.
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http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/26/news/beer_prices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2007102615