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Tragedy - 4% of US Hop Market Burns!
Federal investigators were set Tuesday to begin an investigation into a fire that ruined about 4 percent of America's yield of hops, used as flavoring in the brewing of beer and ale.
The fire started shortly before noon Monday in a 40,000-square-foot (3,600-square-meter) warehouse operated by S.S. Steiner Inc., one of the four largest hop buyers in the Yakima Valley of central Washington. By mid-afternoon flames engulfed most of the building, sending up plumes of smoke and a pungent aroma.
Municipal fire crews, aided by regional firefighters, ripped away metal siding to shoot water directly onto the hops.
Based on an industry official's estimate of the quantity of hops in the warehouse, the loss could amount to $3.5 million to $4 million. The impact on brewers and beer prices was unclear early Tuesday.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/10/03/ho … index.html
I guess the only question is what effect is this going to have on hop prices, or on craft beer as a whole?
A small amount of inflation would be competely understandable, as long as it returns to a normal price with next year's yields.
Guess all we can do is wait and see.
Id like to know how its going to affect prices of any domestic beer. I mean how much does hop prices affect a single batch of beer? I know some folks who prefer a very hoopy beer and some that prefer a less hops. Well i guess time will tell keep your eyes open for the prices!
Lucky for us, homebrewers are flexible and creative! Without having to meet market demands, we can simply alter what we brew to use less hops, if the price goes up, or they become more scarce. More porters!
Keep us all posted on prices.
Hmmm, I guess I should run to the homebrew store today to get my supplies while they're still cheap.
DaveSlash
Maybe one of the big 3 breweries started the fire. Jealousy will get them nowhere. LOL
where do you purchase hops? if there's no local breweries, i guess you have to order them online? i don't know if they'll be fresh then.
Shouldn't affect BMC because they don't use hops anyway. Online is a good place to get hops because you can order direct from growers, and have them sent literally days after processing.
NPR did a piece on this (maybe it was just our local station, seein as it's in our back yard). Some commentator was saying this shoudl have no effect on the price of beer because the cost of hops is such a small component. She did say that it would effect the availability of some types of hops. She did not say WHICH types though! Clearly not a home brewer!
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