State craft brewers fear drought could alter business, and the beer When Lagunitas Brewing fills its beer bottles, Northern California’s Russian River provides the main ingredient. Lagunitas has become one of the fastest-growing stars of California’s booming craft beer scene. But the Russian River is shrinking after three years of punishing drought. “We are at the maximum growth threshold here in California because of water,” said Leon Sharyon, chief financial officer for Lagunitas, which uses nearly 2 million gallons of river water a year at its brewery. Breweries run through an average of four to seven gallons of water to end up with one gallon of beer. With California in the midst of a water crisis, breweries are scrambling. California is home to more than 400 craft brewers — the most in the country. They sold $4.7 billion worth of beer in 2012, about 17 percent of the state’s total beer sales, according to the most recent statistics from the California Craft Brewers Association. Small brewers worry that they could have trouble meeting thriving demand with limited water. Prices could go up, they warn, if they have to spend for conservation measures or scrounge up new supplies. “If this drought continues for two, three more years, that could greatly impact the [...] newsinca/state-craft-brewers-fear-drought-could-alter-business-and-the-beer/
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 07:05:10 +0000
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