Pricing ‘Hangover’ Squeezes Beermakers as Barley Costs Surge
- Strong demand and small stocks help keep barley prices high
- Beermakers rely on malting barley to help flavor their brews
Photographer: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg
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Brewers are getting squeezed by stubbornly high barley prices as a bumper North American harvest fails to quench demand for the beer-making ingredient.
Brewers rely on malting barley to flavor beer, and prices in parts of Canada have surged more than 30% since August. Canadian barley prices are approaching the all-time highs set in 2021 as beermakers and livestock feeders seek to replenish dwindled supplies after last year’s drought, said Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre.