As temperatures rise due to climate change, it will be more difficult to cool down with your favorite beer. The world’s favorite alcoholic drink, beer, is predicted to become even more of a luxury item as its ingredients suffer from the consequences of climate change. If you weren’t concerned with the impending climate crisis yet, now is the time to see the realities.
Barley is one of the most common grains used in the fermentation process of making beer. Barley is a crop grown worldwide that is used not only for beer, but also for livestock feed and human consumption. Only 17% of barley crop was used in beer production in 2011, which shows the prioritization of barley-to-food-commodities over barley-to-beer.
Current predictions in climate patterns show increases in severe droughts and extreme heat in areas where barley is grown. This is projected to decrease the yield of barley worldwide. Depending on the severity of weather events, production of barley is predicted to decrease 3 to 17%. With this decrease in production follows an increase in prices, meaning our beer is about to get way more expensive. Decreases in barley production due to drought and heat are likely to double the prices of beer. This steep price increase is forecasted to decrease beer drinking worldwide by 16%.
Delicious beer relies not only on barley but also on hops to give us the unique flavors we enjoy. In America, most hops are grown in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Though the hops grown in the area were specifically developed to be more heat tolerant for the climate of the area, the recent climate changes have affected their productivity. In the past few years there has been an increase in demand for hops due to peaking interest from the growing craft beer scene. Though production of crop went up, yield per acre decreased by 61% from 2014 to 2015. Essentially, both the barley and hop loss of yield lead back water issues. Extreme droughts have led to not enough participation in the regions of production. The same droughts that have led to the destructive forest fires of California are affecting the American beer industry. Lack of water for irrigation is paired with the loss of access to clean water for the brewing process. As water accounts for 90 to 95% of the liquid components of beer, beer takes a lot of our limited clean water resources.
Drought and heat seem to be the culprit for these issues of barley, hop, and water decreases, but why is this happening? The climate of the earth has been slowly changing due to the increase of fossil fuels in our atmosphere, leading to the warming of our earth, melting of ice caps, and changes in climate worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of scientists convened by the United Nations, put out a report outlining the severity and speed at which climate change is occurring. The report claims that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm by as much as 2.7 degrees fahrenheit by 2040, increasing the intensity and commonality of extreme weather events, such as the droughts affecting our beer ingredients.
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Climate change is predicted to not only influence access to our favorite beers but also to wines, chocolates, and even the simple food staples we rely on to live. The effects of climate change go far beyond beer. Cities on the coast are at risk of flood, wildfires are predicted to become more common, and an estimated $54 trillion will need to be spent on damages in the US alone. By continuing the current trend of our uses of fossil fuels, emissions of carbon dioxide, and pollution of rivers and oceans will only quicken our path towards degradation of the environment. To prevent this warming, we need to stop greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. We need to increase our use of renewable energy, replacing of fossil fuels. We can also support politicians who back green initiatives.
A changing climate requires a change in us. If we want to continue to drink our delicious beers, we need to make changes to keep our earth stable. So, crack open a beer and remember the importance of our planet.
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/beer-shortage-price-rise-clim… arming-barley-a8584901.html
Kennedy, Caitlyn. “Climate and Beer .” Climate Change: Global Sea Level | NOAA Climate.gov, 13 Jan. 2016, www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-beer.
Overland, Adam. “The Water Issue.” The Growler,7 Aug. 2013, growlermag.com/the-water-issue/.
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