Malted Barley Prices Rising Next Year

Just reading an article in the Billings Gazette this morning about the malting barley crop. Here in the U.S., most of the nations malting barley crop is grown in Montana, Idaho and North Dakota. In early August much of Idaho’s malting barley crop was ruined by heavy rains prior to it’s harvest. Two weeks ago our bumper crop here in Montana suffered the same devastation. It appears that much of North Dakota’s crop, too has been damaged prior to harvest as well. It seems Canada’s malting barley has escaped the pre harvest rain damage, so far. The American Malt Barley Association is predicting a sharp rise in the cost of malted barley beginning sometime next year. This will effect almost all of our malts we use in brewing including specialty malts. This may increase the cost of beer we buy as well. Home brewers may want to stock up now on enough malt to get themselves through their 2015 homebrew schedule and weather willing we may see normal prices in the 2016 brewing year.

Isn’t Rahr grown in Minnesota? Or is it just malted there? Any idea if they were effected? I just bought a 55lb sack of pilsner so some American 2-row would be the only thing I would consider buying in bulk.

Any foresight into how much of an increase is expected? If it’s $5 a sack I’ll eat the cost but if we are talking double there may be a sack of 2-row in my near future.

Rahr is grown in both Montana and I assume North Dakota and malted Minnesota. Not much malting barley in the U.S. grown outside of the states I listed above except for Canada of course. The article said only that the increase would not be know until later this year when inventories can be examined. When you figure the amount of barley used by the U.S. domestic beer brewers and then look at the Macro and Micro breweries and the total consumption, I am willing to bet we might see a substantial price increase for a sack or two row malt later next year. I have 150 pounds of two row on hand and 50 pounds of 40l crystal now. I think I will invest in another 100 pounds of two row this fall and that should carry me through next year. Here is a link to the article. I am sure we will be reading more about this in the future.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... d94ba.html

I guess I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue…

Wisconsin and Minnesota (along with other Midwestern state) both grow malting barley.

Albeit not as much as Washington, Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas.

Briess (Wisconsin) and Rahr (Minnesota) use both local and imported barley.

Canada, Russia, Europe and China also grow malting barley.

Interesting. Still waiting for the hops prices to come down from 2008…

lol, I’m still waiting for gas prices to come back down from 2001.

lol, I’m still waiting for gas prices to come back down from 2001.[/quote]

Or even 2008…