Hops prices are on the rise. Did the cost of my beer just go up?

Bad news lovers of micro and specialty brews. Beer prices are slated to rise by at least 30%. Producers are blaming rising energy and distribution prices. This won’t affect the major breweries ( Budweiser etc.) as they held back enough for just such a crises but the stuff we drink is gonna go up. It’s the hops and barley that’s now scarce as the demand for both is on the rise fueled by more home brewers and an increasing number of specialty brews, e.g. One of my favorites, dogfish head. The story caught my attention because I wanted to see if the crop had been affected by global warming. Anyone else have a handle on this? How about you Europeans?
http://www.uticaod.com/x1314055228/Trouble-brewing-for-beer-as-hops-barley-prices-increase/?Start=2
Cap’t Jack

I saw a graph recently that showed that food prices, in general, have gone up all around the world. It was only by 7% in the US, but it was more than a 30% increase in many countries.

Yea, lets hope California get’s some rain. Seems to me, given global realities, food prices have no place to go but up.

Yes CC, and let’s also hope that when John Q’s six pack goes up to $14.00 and he pays $20.00 for a watermelon he’ll finally wake from the hypnotic trance the corporate snakes put him in and pressure his congressmen to vote for soft energy.
Cap’t Jack

Yea, lets hope California get's some rain. Seems to me, given global realities, food prices have no place to go but up.
Has it ever been otherwise? Lois
Yea, lets hope California get's some rain. Seems to me, given global realities, food prices have no place to go but up.
Has it ever been otherwise? Lois Well, back in the last century there was a pretty good roll there for a while :)
Yea, lets hope California get's some rain. Seems to me, given global realities, food prices have no place to go but up.
Has it ever been otherwise? Lois Well, back in the last century there was a pretty good roll there for a while :) Yes, but many people could not afford the lower prices because a good percentage of the population was out of work. Everything is relative. Lois
Yes, but many people could not afford the lower prices because a good percentage of the population was out of work. Everything is relative.
If you're referring to exactly 100 years ago the unemployment figure was at 8%, less than two points higher than today at 6.3%. Unemployment actually went down after the start of World War 1 when we became the marketplace for the belligerents of both sides and beer was a nickel a glass. Ah, the good old days. Can't Jack
Yes, but many people could not afford the lower prices because a good percentage of the population was out of work. Everything is relative.
If you're referring to exactly 100 years ago the unemployment figure was at 8%, less than two points higher than today at 6.3%. Unemployment actually went down after the start of World War 1 when we became the marketplace for the belligerents of both sides and beer was a nickel a glass. Ah, the good old days. Can't Jack
I was thinking of the Great Depression, which started 84 years ago and just began to ease up during WWII. 100 years ago was 1914. In 1932 and 1933 the unemployment rate was over 20%. And how many had a nickle for a glass of beer? Lois

Back in the day, most food was actually food, instead of the various forms of processed sugar that passes for food these days.

I was thinking of the Great Depression, which started 84 years ago and just began to ease up during WWII. 100 years ago was 1914. In 1932 and 1933 the unemployment rate was over 20%. And how many had a nickle for a glass of beer?
And I was responding to CC's nebulous quote about the "last Century". Yep, the Great Depression was the economic nadir of American History and believe it or not a lot of drinkers kept right on drinking because they were supplied (at least in this area) with cheap, accessible home brew and corn liquor. My grandmother, Dad's mom made it in her bathtub, bottled it and sold it to neighbors until Dad wanted to go to the local circus and sold her bottles for ticket money. She of course tanned his hide but good, bought more bottles and reopened her business. There were also numerous illegal bars throughout the Tristate area that continued even after the repeal amendment. Where there's a will... . Cap't Jack
I was thinking of the Great Depression, which started 84 years ago and just began to ease up during WWII. 100 years ago was 1914. In 1932 and 1933 the unemployment rate was over 20%. And how many had a nickle for a glass of beer?
And I was responding to CC's nebulous quote about the "last Century". Yep, the Great Depression was the economic nadir of American History and believe it or not a lot of drinkers kept right on drinking because they were supplied (at least in this area) with cheap, accessible home brew and corn liquor. My grandmother, Dad's mom made it in her bathtub, bottled it and sold it to neighbors until Dad wanted to go to the local circus and sold her bottles for ticket money. She of course tanned his hide but good, bought more bottles and reopened her business. There were also numerous illegal bars throughout the Tristate area that continued even after the repeal amendment. Where there's a will... . Cap't Jack
That reminded me of something. I heard that bathtub gin wasn't really made in a bathtub, but that the large bottles could only be filled with water in a bathtub because it was the only place they would fit under the spigot. I have no idea if this is true, having missed the Depression. I'm not sure how anything could be made in a bathtub or why. Lois
That reminded me of something. I heard that bathtub gin wasn’t really made in a bathtub, but that the large bottles could only be filled with water in a bathtub because it was the only place they would fit under the spigot. I have no idea if this is true, having missed the Depression. I’m not sure how anything could be made in a bathtub or why.
My Granny didn't dwell on the details but come to think of it now I'm curious. I'll ask my father about her method. He still remembers that time period very well. It could have been only part of the process. cap't Jack