The Horror! The Horror!

Four percent of the US hop crop (that rhymes!) went up in flames at a Yakima, Washington fire yesterday.

If beer companies take a page from the oil companies' pricing guidebook, expect increases in beer prices in the hundreds of percent!

Seriously, though, hops prices will increase as a result of the fire. I doubt there will be shortages to the major brewers. Homebrewers, on the other hand, might experience shortages of their favorite Washington hops, and certainly higher prices in the homebrew shops.