The British Hops Association have suggested that there has been a 100% rise in the price of US grown hops in the wake of the recent trend for craft beers. The aromas provided by American hops are apparently highly prized by UK craft beer makers and this, combined with an increased interest domestically, is likely to result in shortages in the coming years.
The BHA is, quite rightly, calling for UK breweries to not forget about their own hop growers and asking them to buy British. Living in Kent, a famous centre for hop production, it seems illogical that we would import such a readily available crop from the States. However, even in the UK the 2014 hop crop is reported to already have been ‘sold out’. So, does this mean that the pumps may soon run dry? I very much hope not.
It would seem our demand for good beer is driving a farming sector that was once reputedly on the verge of dying out. This must be a good thing. I also hope that we start seeing some more hop crops growing around the UK to meet this demand. They do look stunning.
– James
I’ll drink to that… in fact I DO !!