Local beer prices going up
Story By: Susan Davies
Source: KOAA
Bad news for beer drinkers. The price of six packs, kegs and pints are expected to go up. Local breweries are watching barley and hops prices double and even triple, and those costs will be passed on to consumers. Local brewer Mike Bristol says he hasn't seen increases like these in his thirteen years as a microbrewer. He says foreign beer companies now compete for American barley and that has driven up prices. Hops producers in the pacific northwest have cut back on acreage due to years of low prices and that's led to a shortage. He says the resulting higher costs are a significant hike and can't be absorbed. Bristol says his 6-packs will go up a dollar on Monday and pints of beer climb fifty cents. He expects other "craft breweries" to do the same over the next few months. And he says he doesn't expect to lose customers. "I've talked to people. They say they might drink less because of the higher prices, but they're not going to drink bad beer."
