The coming beer shortage

Bad Hops harvest is Europe likely to lead to higher prices, shortages.

A worldwide hops shortage will make stouts, ales and other specialty microbrews more pricy in coming months.

A triple whammy of bad weather in Europe, an increase in the price of barley and a decrease in hops production in the U.S. has lead to a price increase of 20 percent for the most widely grown varieties, to 80 percent for specialty hops. The shortage is particularly hitting microbreweries, since they use more hops than major brewers.