FEBRUARY 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Pricey hops make a bitter brew
STATEWIDE
Beer makers across the state are facing a brew as bitter
— though not nearly as refreshing — as a hoppy
Oregon pale ale.
Weak hop harvests the past two years — the result of bad
weather stateside and overseas — and a gradual decline in
production have converged in a shortage of the spicy, bitter
flowers that give beer its bite. As a result, prices have
increased from roughly $2 a pound in 2006 to close to $20
today, but that’s assuming a brewer can even find any
hops.
“Everybody’s in a mass frenzy right now,”
says Mark Henion, head brewer for Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. in
Redmond.
Such a shortage — paired with other ingredient
shortfalls and price increases — could eventually hit all
of Oregon’s 60-plus craft breweries, which, along with
the entire beer industry, poured more than $2.2 billion into
the state’s economy in 2006. Beer prices are bubbling up
for consumers, as well. There’s been talk of $9 six packs
and $5 pints, and indeed, consumers already are seeing some
six-pack prices up by as much as $2.
“A lot of people have raised prices,” Henion says,
adding that Cascade Lakes raised prices “a little
bit” last year.
Mark Vickery, brewmaster at McMinnville’s Golden Valley
Brewery, says the shortage also may find brewers venturing into
fruit beers or other styles that require fewer hops. And more
brewers will likely end up contracting with growers, something
Henion has done through 2010 .
“That will be beneficial,” says Michelle Palacios,
administrator for the Oregon Hop Commission, “so growers
know what brewers want and brewers get what they
need.”
Although Oregon’s hop production is down — from
10.2 million pounds in 1998 to 9.5 million last year —
Palacios says that compared with the past few years, more hops
are going in the ground here and in Washington, and hopes are
high that the 2008 overseas harvest will be stout. Weather
permitting, brewers and growers seem confident the hop shortage
will correct itself in two years. The in-between, however, is
likely to be
tough.
JON BELL
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