Oh Good – Climate Change Is Ruining Our Beer

Did you know that worldwide we love beer almost as much as tea and water?

Now, thanks to climate change, our third favourite beverage is at risk according to a study conducted by Nature Communications.

Over the years, we’ve got quite into our beer. Our love of craft beers is creating unprecedented demand, sparking more and more microbreweries to pop up. So much so, that manufacturers are relying increasingly on high-quality hops to make artisan ales, beers and lagers. 

The key ingredient to making beer is hops, a flower found on top of the common hop plant — or Humulus Lupulus if you’re fancy. They are harvested and fermented alongside yeast, wheat and water to make that distinctive taste we’ve come to love so much, be that bitter, sour, floral or fruity flavours. 

There are very few places across the globe where high-quality hops can be grown.

They require very specific weather and environmental conditions to flourish healthily. As such, they are more susceptible to being impacted by droughts and unseasonal heatwaves (which we’ve been having a lot of lately). 

Extreme weather conditions have had quite an impact on UK agriculture already.

Farmers responded to research carried out by the UK Climate Resilience Programme said: “Changes to our weather and climate were seen as too uncertain and too long-term for them to invest significant time or money in planning for them now.”

It raises the question, if not now — when? Whether we like it or not, global warming is showing no signs of slowing down. 

Furthermore, the Nature Communications study found declines in hop yields of more than 30% were recorded in 2000 and 2003, in 2006 and 2015.

By 2050, experts believe that hop yield is set to decline by  4–18% and are calling for “immediate adaptive measures” to help stabilise the ever-growing global sector. 

There are things farmers can do to try and prepare for the unpreparable. They can breed more resilient crops, plant in higher altitudes or in valley locations and deploy the use of irrigation systems. Although, it’s uncertain how this will affect the quality of the crop, which in turn affects the quality of the beer. Sigh.