Why Are Some Hop Varieties So Expensive?

[jbryce]

Breeding new hop varieties is an expensive process that often spans decades. Some varieties come out of public institutions, while others are bred by private companies. Breeders of private varieties tightly control the supply of those varieties; ultimately determining who can plant them and how much can be planted.



While the analogy isn't perfect, the situation is not unlike a pharmaceutical company who spends millions developing a new drug. The company has to carefully control supply and pricing of that drug in order to recoup an extremely large investment made over many years. They want to avoid a scenario in which the drug becomes readily available at low prices (ie generics). Similarly, spot market availability devalues hop varieties. ...read more

[briangaylor]

I think the short answer is demand. It helps that supply is increasing but if demand grows faster than supply you get price increases. Eventually there will be a new hot hop that takes the demand off the ones you mentiond or supply keeps growing at a pace that matches it eventually.


With that being said.... if anyone has some 14/15 citra they can part with - let me know

[TimG]

With that being said.... if anyone has some 14/15 citra they can part with - let me know

I'll pay $16 ;-)