Beer too expensive? Toke up for change

Written by Joshua Grenzsund

Thursday, 27 March 2008

This is a global issue. People don’t treat it with the level of concern that they regard climate change, economic collapse and war; however the rising price of beer may very well be interconnected with all of these. Additionally, with the skyrocketing prices of key beer ingredients like hops, barley and malt, we are realizing that we can no longer be dependent on an international brewing materials market. A possible solution? Domestic, local, organic, renewable marijuana. Beer is itself a key ingredient in social life and national identity, but with the price of hops increasing from averages of $3-$5 a pound a year ago to as much as $35-$40 a pound in early 2008, breweries and pubs from England to the United States to Amsterdam must face the reality that they may not be able to survive. Barley costs have also increased about 30 percent over the last year and combined with the increase in distribution costs because of the all-time high price of oil, craft brewers and pubs have to face tough decisions on whether they can salvage very small profit margins — usually about 9 percent for brewers — by cutting back in other areas, or if they have to raise prices at the tap. Average price increases of one to two dollars a six pack may in fact drive beer drinkers toward larger brands like Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Femsa who have the clout to buy up hops supplies and the deep pockets to shave a profit margin but expand market share at the same time. All these factors reveal that though many brands and craft brewers manufacture a regional image or a national identity, they do so only through international trade of hops and grains. Your favorite import that demonstrates your refined tastes may very well get that hoppy bite from Tasmania or Washington state in the US. Likewise, your favorite US domestic may depend on imported hops varieties to give it its characteristic bite and flourish. Add to this the concern of all the pesticides used to cultivate and all the fossil fuels used to transport beer materials to breweries and then package and ship it to the consumer. Some even argue that higher beer prices are in part due to the amount of corn diverted to ethanol production, which then pits brewers, bakers and livestock growers against each other for the shrinking supply of grains. Enter marijuana. Many people, worldwide already enjoy pot as one of the top four recreational substances — the others being alcohol, nicotine and caffeine — and there are several reasons why it is poised to come to the rescue of beer connoisseurs who long for the aroma of a pungent flower. Hops, the beer ingredient that gives it its bitterness, high points and aroma, is actually the flower of the hop plant, and its pungent aroma itself can be as enticingly intoxicating as that of the flowering bud of a marijuana plant. For the beer drinker who enjoys a bit of hoppy skunkiness in his or her drink, the shift to some dank bud will probably be an easy one. Despite the huge and obvious drawback to marijuana’s illicit status in many places around the globe, that it is so popular and available does make it an economical replacement for craft beer. If you spend $30 to get a bit of a buzz on one night a week at the bar, you may be saving a lot of green if you’d just switch to weed. Many times you can get 3.5 grams (1/8 of an ouce) of fairly locally-grown pot for around $50 — or less if you make the right connection — and instead of blowing it all in a night, you can smoke up your crew and yourself for a couple days, or even a week if you’re stingy, for that half-a-Benjamin. Also, if you do shop around, you can be sure to support local organic farming — or grow a plant or two yourself — and keep your money in the local economy, thereby cutting back on all sorts of problems associated with international import-export and petroleum-based transportation. Sure, it is illegal, and many people would argue that such black market activity contributes to an unsafe society, reckless behavior and, in this case, undermines the craft brewing industry that already faces huge hurdles in the current economy. However, this change should be seriously considered. We’re at the point where our old ways have led us to two terms with a President whose policies and actions have led us to many of our current troubles with the economy, foreign policy and the environment. Yes, a loss of craft brewers would be a devastating shock to national and regional identity, but a change to more marijuana recreation in its place could change illicit drug laws — remember the US prohibition of 1920-1933? — and bring about a growth in legal craft farmers. You may have to wait until November to vote on the president, but you vote every day with your dollar, and where you choose to spend it can change the world.