The growth of craft beer in London and other parts of the UK has resulted in an increasing demand for hops. There are also other ingredients that must be sourced from farms and growers, such as barley malt, wheat, oats, honey and fruit.
Hops are extremely valuable to craft brewers because they give the beer its flavour and aroma. In other words, if you brew great beers with distinctive ingredients like these, you will make sure your margin stays high. This goes double when it comes to limited releases or rare creations made from experimental crops such as those created by innovative brewers.
This is why hop growers are facing a dilemma; the increased demand for speciality hops means that farmers need to produce more than ever before just to keep up, and this could lead to shortages down the line if not enough new farms enter into production or existing ones expand their acreage. The overwhelming majority of hops grown in the U.K., meanwhile, come from other countries such as Germany and Slovenia.
The increase in demand for craft beer however is positively impacting the agriculture sector in the UK, which means that farmers can have a bigger stake in the craft beer boom.
As more good quality hops are being produced, British brewers will be able to rely less on imported ingredients and as such bring new jobs into the agriculture industry as well. The overall impact of this increase is expected to boost the economy with increased growth opportunities for local breweries and their suppliers alike. Moreover, it would encourage further production of high-quality crops like hops that could potentially result in greater export revenue down the line if demand from other countries increases too (and it probably will).