Global Warming Threatens Beer Supply

Enough, global warming — we’ve freaking had it with you. You’re already melting the glaciers, burning the forests, and otherwise ransacking our most-cherished wilderness places, but that wasn’t enough for you, was it? You had to go and take the one thing we had left: Beer.

In perhaps the saddest news I’ve encountered all week, it seems global warming will contribute to a likely shortage in malted barley, which could lead to skyrocketing beer prices and even a potential beer drought within the next 30 years. The places where malted barley grows have already seen failed crops, and those dry places will only be getting drier, according to Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, while speaking to a convention for the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.

“It will mean either there will be pubs without beer or the cost of beer will go up,” Salinger told the Institute of Brewing and Distilling convention. “It will provide a lot of challenges for the brewing industry.”

Salinger only referred to the future state of beer in New Zealand and Australia, specifically, but similar results could be expected throughout the rest of the world. Even if it isn’t as severe, I’d still be worried about an angry Kiwi-Ozzie crusade to come take our hops. (Down under, they love the stuff, maybe even more than we do).

We can hope for the best, I suppose, but that might not be enough. It’ll be a sad, sad day when we conclude multi-day expeditions across non-existent glaciers with toasts to our success over frosty mugs of…iced tea. [sniff] — Ted Alvarez

Beer lovers told to beware of global warming (MSNBC)

Via Treehugger