Hops shortage spurs B.C. microbreweries to reinvent flagship beers

A worldwide shortage of hops is forcing some microbreweries in British Columbia to rewrite their recipes for trademark beers, with hopes of matching popular flavours.

Patt Dyck of the Cannery Brewing Company, in Penticton, said her brewmasters are reformulating one of their most popular beers with a different kind of hops — used to give beer its aroma and flavour.

"They're not the same hops, so the challenge for us will be using very different hops to make the beers that we have been making until now … and in some ways, we're looking forward to that challenge," she said.

Dyck said the company is aiming to match the flavours as closely as possible.

"The biggest scare is always your flagship beer — for us that's the Naramata Nut Brown Ale — it's got an incredibly stubbornly loyal following and we would like to keep it as close to what it has been as we possibly can."

Drought in Australia coupled with floods and hailstorms in Europe have diminshed the supply of hops. In the U.S., meanwhile, a decade of oversupply coupled with low prices, has spurred many growers to abandon the crop. Between 1995 and 2006, U.S. hops production fell 30 per cent.

Ray Huson of the Barley Mill Brew Pub in Penticton says he's concerned about the shortage.

"It's a bit of a scary thought, you're hoping your customers will understand by hearing there's a hops shortage," Huson said.

"The alternative is maybe you can't make beer and then they won't be able to have a beer in their favourite establishment."

The price of hops has also jumped dramatically and will likely force small operations to raise their prices, the microbreweries said.

"Last year we paid just under $4 a pound, this year over $15," Huson said.