If you've invested in hop futures (if there is such a thing), you're quite rich:

"Microbreweries kicked by price of key ingredient in beer

December 1, 2007
BY LONG HWA-SHU hlong@scn1.com

Beer drinkers won't drink to it, but they'll drink it anyway.

Beer prices are going up because of a severe shortage of hops, the vines that produce the tiny, flavorful cones used in beer making.

Hop cones or flowers, harvested from vines (humulus lupulus), contain oils and resins that provide bitterness and flavor in beer. Hops are also a natural preservative.Some breweries use only one variety of hop, and must stick to that variety to maintain consistent taste.

In the past six months, the price of hops has gone up from $5 a pound to as much as $30 a pound, said Arthur Steinhoff, brewmaster at Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery in Lincolnshire.

The shortage was caused by weather, increasing demand and conversion of hop growing to other crops like corn, the demand for which in ethanol is soaring and therefore commanding a higher price.

The hop shortage affects the smaller breweries, particularly microbreweries because the biggies have more buying power and exclusive hops supply contracts.

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"Some of the hop farmers in the Pacific Northwest have been out of hop growing and switched to orchards," said Browne, a transplanted Australian.

Hops are grown in America, principally in Washington State. They used to be grown on the East Coast, particularly in New York, until diseases decimated the crops. Hop farming then moved west.

World demand for hops is rising, especially in China, where more people are drinking beer.

"The weather has affected hop harvests in Europe and the United Kingdom," Browne said.""