Franconian Beer Message Board

Back to the main page Back to parent post

Brauereigaststätte Haberstumpf...Hops Scandal

Posted by DonS on 2012-02-07 09:56:31

Oh my goodness. Barry, hop growing itself isn't the toughest thing, but in breeding hops, problems have arisen in the plants' resistance to certain diseases, the worst amongst them being powdery mildew and the hop louse. Near where I live in the USA, we had a sizable and growing hop-farming industry back in the 19th century, until the hop louse infestation of 1892 wiped out the crop. In current hop-farming parts of much of the world, powdery mildew continues to be a problem, requiring application of some sort of fungicide. In fact, some of the biggest global brewing corporations contractually require their suppliers to apply these fungicides on a regular schedule to their fields. Organically grown hops are more difficult to develop because of this, but work has been done on breeding powdery mildew resistant strains. New Zealand has escaped the powdery mildew plague, so NZ-sourced strains like Nelson Sauvin can be supplied organically. The end result of all of this, though, is that organically-grown hops are bound to be more expensive, thus raising the price of beer brewed with them. As far as the price of (good) beer goes in the USA, that's another story, only partly driven by base ingredient prices. Taxes on beverage alcohol in the USA can be high, and prices vary widely depending on where in the USA one is. Where I live, also, wages are fairly good for those in work, so affordability isn't really that much of an issue for those who wish to drink products of better quality. People can and do drink big-brewer industrolager at lower price points. Considering big-city prices in the likes of Dublin for bog-standard Harp and Guinness, much of the USA doesn't come across that badly, and for variety, we do quite well indeed.

Followups:

Brauereigaststätte Haberstumpf...Hops Scandal by barry on  2012-02-09 01:18:31

Brauereigaststätte Haberstumpf...Hops Scandal by Mark Andersen on  2012-02-09 05:42:39

Brauereigaststätte Haberstumpf...Hops Scandal by Barry on  2012-02-09 06:30:08

Brauereigaststätte Haberstumpf...Hops Scandal by Mark Andersen on  2012-02-09 11:13:56

Mind Your P's & Q's by Nick B. on  2012-02-10 04:59:46

Mind Your P's & Q's by Mark Andersen on  2012-02-10 05:05:15

Mind Your P's & Q's by Mark Andersen on  2012-02-10 05:07:17

Mind Your P's & Q's by barry on  2012-02-10 05:44:55

Draught Bass by Nick B. on  2012-02-10 08:07:23

Mind Your P's & Q's by FredW on  2012-02-10 12:30:32

Draught Bass by Uncle Jimbo on  2012-02-10 14:18:10

Mind Your P's & Q's by barry on  2012-02-11 02:56:57

Mind Your P's & Q's by Nick B. on  2012-02-11 03:44:05

Ach, du meine Güte! Mind Your Ounces! by Nick B. on  2012-02-11 03:51:44

Mind Your P's & Q's by barry on  2012-02-11 10:34:02

Mind Your P's & Q's by Uncle Jimbo on  2012-02-11 13:53:45

Ach, du meine Güte! Mind Your Ounces! by Uncle Jimbo on  2012-02-11 14:49:27

Ach, du meine Güte! Mind Your Ounces! by Nick B. on  2012-02-12 03:11:28

Mind Your P's & Q's by Nick B. on  2012-02-12 03:15:25

York == Bamberg of Britain? by Nick B. on  2012-02-12 03:16:55

York == Bamberg of Britain? by John Ratcliffe on  2012-02-12 05:04:57

York == Bamberg of Britain? by barry on  2012-02-12 05:40:56

Mind Your P's & Q's by Uncle Jimbo on  2012-02-12 11:40:12

Mind Your P's & Q's by Nick B. on  2012-02-13 02:21:46

Mind Your P's & Q's by Uncle Jimbo on  2012-02-13 10:04:59

York == Bamberg of Britain? by AndyH on  2012-02-20 15:30:15

Ach, du meine Güte! Mind Your Ounces! by AndyH on  2012-02-20 15:36:35