War in Ukraine May Effect Beer Prices

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 -- 11:00 AM

(WISN) Prices are climbing, and now even the war in Ukraine could make you pay more for the beer you drink.

“Ukraine accounts for about 20% of beer’s usage of barley. It’s one of the top five global producers of barley, so brewers, particularly at a global level, will be watching the supply and price of barley,” said Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of The Beer Institute.

Major brewers like Molson Coors have been able to absorb the higher costs, but that’s not the case for many craft brewers.“It’s really hard for us to absorb price increases in raw materials without passing that along to the customer,” said Andrew Gierczak, vice president of MobCraft Beer.

Beer prices are holding at St. Paul Fish Market in Milwaukee, but bartender Paul Johnson said some other bars in the area have already raised their prices by about “50 cents on a glass of beer” and about “$1 on call drinks.”

The possible price hikes do not seem to be stopping people from drinking their favorite beer. “I’ve been drinking beer since I was too young to drink beer. I’ll continue,” Paula Kennedy said.

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