Top 5 reasons why the "hop shortage" is good for the beer industry.

Hops! Hops! Hops!

Who would think it would come to this?

Such a media frenzy and panic with the "hop shortage" and subsequent price increases.

This is a bad thing, right?

I think not, and so I have included several reasons while it is not as bad as we think, perhaps even working as benefit to the industry.

1. Free media coverage for craft beer. I can't even begin to list the amount of nationally syndicated articles about the hop shortage featuring small craft breweries that I've read in the past year. Free press. No one is complaining, especially not The Boston Beer Co.

2. Balanced beer. What with all the quadruple IPA's and 500 ibu Russian Imperial Stouts, the craft beer industry could learn a little more about balance. What better way than to take away their hops.

3. More beer exploration. Maybe a little spruce. Perhaps a little coriander. Some Orange peel. A touch of pepper. Some tannin from wood. A nudge towards creativity and ingenuity. You get the picture.

4. Price increases. Sure, no one likes to pay higher prices, but craft beer for the most part is not a profit driven field, instead it is a passion driven field. I think breweries deserve to make more money for the effort they put in. In no way do I think that the price of hops will justify the increases we will see in the stores. Hops are such a small part of the overhead cost that go into making beer. Equipment, power, fuel, water, employee salaries, square footage, these are the real costs. Despite this fact, we will see a greater increase than what truly correlates with the hop price increase. And I support this if in the long run it pushes more breweries to open or stay in business.

5. Broader beer education. Most people I know didn't even know what hops were before last year. Now, with the great media coverage the "hops crisis" has brought, more people have become aware of the ingredients and agricultural heritage behind beer.