GrizzlyRed

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Sorry if this was in another thread.
Is the hop shortage affecting your home brewing? I keep seeing all these warnings on the various vendor websites and they are limiting the amount to be purchased. I am pretty new and before I make this a serious hobby, I would like to know if it will improve and will it affect me down the road.

Thanks!

ExpertBrewers

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It should improve. A fire bad, bad weather conditions, and decreasing acerage, and increase demand led to the current situation. Hop acerage is up this year(won't really help for 2-3 years), weather conditions have been better, and so far no fire. Things might be a bit better this year, but things won't start looking up for 2-3 years.

Nurmey

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One nice side effect of the shortage is that it has gotten brewers to experiment with new and different hops. Most folks tend to stick with their favorites and when they can't get them, innovation happens.

Also, there are usually some sort of substitute that can be found so even if it takes a couple years to get back to "normal", there are hops available.

I don't see any reason that you don't become just as obsessed with the hobby as the rest of us.

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HOOTER

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Exactly. Some of the more popular hop varieties are really tough to find but I've found some of the lesser known varieties are relatively abundant. If your willing to experiment and make substitutions you can still find hops for any beer style.

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david_42

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The hop shortage is probably the best thing to happen to craft and home brewing this decade. It broke the downward spiral that could only end in Cascade-flavored vodka. People are brewing dozens of styles that were unobtainable three years ago.

Another hopeful trend is away from mega-beers. It's tough making a 4% beer that tastes good, but worth it.

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Brandon O

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no such thing as a hop shortage in the near future. It's called a market and it works perfectly if the government doesn't mess with it.
The price of hops has gone waaaaayyyy up. Hop acreage is up because farmers want to cash in next year. This will continue until the price of hops corrects itself and supply is stable.

also,

My LHBS has every hop i've ever asked for so I haven't seen the hop shortage affect me yet.