Small breweries cope with shortage of hop, a key beer ingredient

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) A shortage of the beer ingredient hop could pose challenges for local breweries.

Hops are flowers used mainly as flavoring and stability agents in beer. Hop plants are grown worldwide, but production in Europe has been down in recent years. That means European brewers are looking to the U.S. market, increasing demand for the hops.

Chris Laumb is brewmaster at McCann's Food and Brew in St.

Cloud. Laumb says he was lucky to find a hop distributor, but when he got the ingredient it came at a high price.

Laumb says hops have gone from $5 a pound to about $20 a pound.

Small brewers are hurt the most by the price jump, which could be passed on to beer drinkers.

Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mpr.org (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-23-07 1103CST | save this article / add to your favorites list