Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

Expect to see higher hop prices until supplies catch up.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/c ... id=DELLDHP

We have been through a hop shortage before. They can get pricey. Stock up on your favorites now. During the last cycle hops that we $9/pound were over $30/pound.

I just stocked up on 3.5 pounds worth from Nikobrew for $30 shipped. Combined with what I have and what I buy from Joe when needed I should be good to ride this out.

Keep in mind that the previous hop shortage wasn't just a supply/demand issue. It also involved a warehouse w/ a sizable fraction of the hop crop burning down.

Very true, but still similar outcome. Demand outpacing supply equal higher price. Problem with hops is each cycle is at least one year because the crop is only harvested once per year.

Some quick numbers from USAhops.org reports show hop acres in the US dropped significantly in 2011 for some reason as well, contributing to some availability issues. The 2013 report includes info going back to 2009 which was peak hops production in the US - We're still producing nearly 20 million pounds a year less than we did in 2009 according the USDA. http://www.usahops.org/userfiles/image/ ... 20Pack.pdf

Anyways there's always more to the story, as so many new varieties are emerging onto the market that local and specialized production is going to start impacting those totals, though probably not in the 20,000,000 pound range.
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The estimates are that we're heading to have slightly more than 40,000 cultivated/reported acres in the US for 2015, most of it in Washington state. In 2009 it dipped to 29,700 or so - obviously a big dip.That is only just returning to reported 2009 acres at 38,700 so there's room for growth in that market for sure.

All this gets me wondering, just how many pounds of hops per year am I responsible for consuming out of the millions? I do like me the IPA flavors...