Hop Shortage? It can't be!

[yankfan9]

I just saw this posted by a brewery earlier today, sounds scary. Especially for those such as Inkleg, BeerLord, BlackDuck, and other hop heads out there!

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-m ... ps-futures

[Beer-lord]

Maybe they're creating a problem so they can make more money. It's an interesting read though.

[BlackDuck]

Uh-oh. They better not run out. I don't want to be forced into drinking malty beers.

Thanks for posting the article.

[yankfan9]

I will have to reign in my desire for more hops that is suddenly overtaking my palette. Think malty beer thoughts....

[philm00x]

I'm ok with this. Lol. I prefer malty over hoppy. I figured it was only a matter of time till this type of news came around, what with so many new breweries popping up and so many extremely hopped beers being brewed.

[mtsoxfan]

Order your ryhzomes (sp) now... Can't wait to grow this year. I'd be happy to get a small harvest the first year

[philm00x]

Yep, me too! I ordered my rhizomes with the Beer Borg presale. Can't wait to get em

[mtsoxfan]

Me too. Thanks again Louie... I only purchased 3, wasn't sure what to expect...

[John Sand]

Mine are ready for their second season-Cascades!

[mtsoxfan]

Since we have similar climates, what did you yield first year? I will have full sun, southern exposure. Still trying to decide on the soil, raised bed or not, put down 1/4" fencing to keep burrowing moles out, using combination compost including yeast dumpings etc.....

[John Sand]

I planted five cuttings in a small area, bound by concrete. I have partial sun, too many trees around. Dried I ended up below an ounce, but I've read that first couple of years are low. And Cascades have a reputation for aggressive growth, so I have high hopes. I just formed some mounds to plant them.

[ScrewyBrewer]

Even malty beers need hops. I remember some years ago homebrewing ground to a halt because hops weren't available anywhere. Maybe it's time for someone to try an corner the hop market, but I think the large commercial guys are buying hop futures for crops years off in the future. A worldwide hop shortage would really suck.

[John Sand]

It would be temporary, the market adjusts. Already hop farms are spring up in new (old) places like NY.

[DaYooper]

One of the problems is the time and money involved to bring a new crop into production. In most cases you are looking at 4 years - the first year to prep the land ("planting" a gazillion telephone poles takes awhile even just to get them delivered not to mention the fertigation system), and it is not until the third year that the plant really comes into its own. The first year we generally do not even harvest since 1) it is not worth it, and 2) the plant will suck the nutrients back up making for a much better second year. So basically you are making an investment that wont pay off anything for several years other than a tax write off.

To get online quickly, it may make sense for the home grower to plant at least one high alpha bittering or multipurpose hops. You wont need as much in the copper (duh) so the first year's crop will be worth that much more. Once the others come online you can always rip out that one bine and replant with something else.

From what I understand the Big Guys generally have their own fields for their generic swill so their use doesnt really affect the demand curve, although I am sure they do augment somewhat from the general market just in case.

[woody]

I planted three hop plants last year and got 2 brews worth the first year so next year I should get a lot more. can't wait for next fall.