A Shaky Market for Hops Challenges Brewers

This article is a couple of months old, but it still worth posting because of its relevance to the current climate in the brewing industry. It talks about the hop "crisis", and what brewers are doing about it.

Soaring hop prices are also cutting into brewers' profits. "Hops are easily up 20 percent over last year," says Sisson, "and that's if you're buying under contract. If you have to scrounge for hops on the spot market, that can add another 10 to 15 percent to your costs."

One long-term solution is for mom-and-pop brewers to make their own deals with mom-and-pop hop growers. Victory dodged a bullet that way, Barchet says. The brewery signed a contract with Georg Bentele, a German farmer, to buy 10,000 kilos of hops a year (one-third of his crop) over the next six years at a locked-in price.

The article can be read in its' entirety here