Beer Prices Foam Up
Starting in January, buying that ice cold beer may leave a bigger dent in your wallet. According to the Billings Gazette, majority of the United States barley crop is grown in North Dakota, Idaho, and Montana. Due to an abnormal amount of rainfall in these states in August, the barley was over-saturated and began to germinate early. According to the National Climate Data Center, North Dakota was one of the wettest states last year. And according to Outside, the barley germinated more than fifty percent.
This is a big problem for large brew companies, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors, who only use barley that have one or two percent germination. With less barley available, it would make sense that prices may rise. Anheuser-Busch beers include Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, and more. Some MillerCoors beers include Miller, Coors, Keystone, Blue Moon, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s, Redd’s, and more. Luckily for bar owners, a rise in beer prices probably won’t stop a college town like Kent from drinking.
1. Malting – This isolates the enzymes needed for brewing.
– Barley is harvested.
– Heated.
– Dried.
– And then cracked.
2. Mashing
– Grains are steeped in hot, not boiling, water for an hour (This causes the enzymes to release sugar).
– The mash is then drained and called, wort.
3. Boiling
– The wort is boiled, along with hops and other spices.
– The hops balance out the sugar.
4. Fermentation
– Wort is cooled, strained, and filtered.
– Yeast is added, and fermentation begins.
– It is then stored at either room temperature, or at a cold temperature, depending on what kind of beer is being made.
– The yeast eats the sugar and produces CO2.
5. Bottling and Aging
– The beer is bottled.
– It can then be artificially carbonated, or it can naturally carbonate with the CO2 the yeast will create on its own.
