No surprise that American brewers aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch of price spikes for hops and malt.
– Gerhard Ilgenfritz, president of Germany’s private brewer’s federation, said the brewery-gate price of a 24-bottle crate was likely to rise 1.00 to 1.10 euros ($1.46 to $1.60) at the start of 2008.
He said the world price of aromatic hops had doubled in the past two years and the price of brewers’ barley had tripled.
– In the U.K., the Society of Independent Brewers warned the price of a pint might increase 10p to 15p (which amounts to 20 to 30 cents). British brewers are looking at increases of nearly 40% for barley compared to last year and 100% for some hop varieties.
“After wages, raw materials represent the biggest single expenditure by small brewers who now face the dilemma of whether to put up their prices and lose trade or absorb the higher costs and take the risk of their businesses becoming economically unsound,” said Peter Amor, SIBA chairman.
Greetings:
We talked with over 20 brewers last weekend at the All Colorado Beer Festival. Every one of them were concerned about outrageous price jumps, some as much as 1000% !!!
You are invited to read our account:
http://www.beerdrinkersguidetocolorado.com/news/price_of_hops.html
Thanks,
Mike