Czechs love beer. For years we have been clear leaders in the statistic of most litres of beer consumed per capita, ahead of the runner up, Austria, by more than 80 litres consumed per year. That means that even if we include those who do not drink it, like children, the sick and those who choose not to, the average Czech still consumes more than 377 beer bottles per year. More than one per day! However, this might change soon, as the golden liquid might get a lot more expensive soon. The four key ingredients for making beer are hops, barley, water and yeast. According to the Association of Private Agriculture of the Czech Republic, we will unfortunately be facing a shortage of brewing hops soon, as this year’s weather wrought havoc in the fields and brought the yields of such fields to a low number. Economists predict that this shortage could cause the prices of beer to go up by 5%, which might not seem as a lot, but if multiplied by ones consumption, it does make beer taste a bit more sour for less well-off consumers. Some breweries have confirmed this prediction, for example the spokesperson of the Bernand brewery, Radek Tulis has even suggested that prices may go up even further. Right now, it is expected that the prices of small breweries will go up first, as some bigger breweries have long-term deals with their suppliers.
