We asked a few people what topic we should hit on this week for the Blog. "High beer prices," they all said. Understandable, since it seems all the media and pundits want to discuss are the pieces of economic sky that are falling. Media and pundits we're not (we know, shocking), but we do feel we have a good grasp on the higher prices of beer. On a side note, the Washington Post printed an ARTICLE on the sense of gloom people are feeling about the economy and how it may be misplaced.

This is something we've been thinking for some time now. It's just nice when a major daily can step back and print it, especially the part about how the media tend to overplay bad news. We'd only add that they get worse in an election year.

Anyway, back to the topic: Beer prices. They're going up. Why? For a lot of reasons that will make a simple blog very complicated but we'll go for an overview. Anyone who cares enough about beer to read a piddly little blog like ours probably already knows the story of high hop prices: bad weather, under-planting, warehouse fires, artificially low prices, high demand, low yield, etc. Bottom line, we paid around $4 per pound two years ago and we're now paying $25 per pound. Yeah, ouch, but hops don't necessarily drive beer prices, malt does. Fuel too, but it's all related. So let's focus on just one thing, the price of malted barley, beer's main ingredient.

We're going to paint a somewhat over-simplified picture for you. The government decides to mandate that ethanol be placed in our gas supply. To ensure farmers will grow corn for the ethanol, the government, instead of the market, sets the price for corn. That price happens to be artificially high as well as essentially guaranteed. So farmers, being businessmen, plow under cheap, low yielding crops (mostly food), and replace it with subsidized money. Mix in a weak dollar and some hungry Europeans with crop problems of their own and, bada-boom, high food prices (told you, oversimplified, but the point remains - high prices).

What does corn have to do with beer? Well, not only are more acres taken up for corn going to ethanol production but a lot of that corn was used as feed for livestock. It had to be replaced with something and barley is a good replacement. This has all led to a sobering (sorry) reality. For the first time there are not enough planted fields of barley to supply the world demand for beer. All of that being coupled with a crop-destroying drought in Australia and virtually all the South American crop already purchased as well as the recent floods in Iowa, it's no exaggeration to say there's a little pinch going on. (Or is that understatement?) The bottom line is that we used to pay 17 cents a pound for what we now pay as much as 50 cents a pound. So in regards to hops, although it had a higher overall increase in real dollars per pound - which one would think would hurt more - the reality is you can make beer with less hops and keep the cost down. However, it's pretty darn hard to reduce the amount of barley and still have a beer that's even recognizable as a Kilt Lifter.

Back to that Washington Post article for just a minute. Are we saying times aren't hard? Obviously not, as we've stated above. We're no Pollyannas; it's a brewer's nature to be a skeptic. Trust but verify, they say. But we've seen projections on future crops for both hops and barley and they're going to get better. Supply will increase but it's going to take time. Does this mean lower beer prices? Well, if the market works it will mean somewhat lower prices in the future but maybe not to previous lows. Markets correct themselves and the hardest thing to do is be patient during that time. We just feel, as we always do, that this country can get through this, or anything, and that it's our humble opinion that these tough times won't last long. And if they do, well, we guess we'll see if beer really is recession-proof.

Four Peaks has joined forces with Tempe landmark Casey Moore's Oyster House, the Special Forces Association Chapter XXII and the Tempe Chamber of Commerce to support the "Project: We Remember" Boots for Our Troops program. You can help show your support, compassion and appreciation for the sacrifices our active troops and veterans and their families have made - and the challenges they continue to face every day.

"Some of OUR Arizona military service members, their families and OUR veterans living in Arizona may encounter financial emergencies because of substantially reduced incomes during their period of active duty and deployments," states the Boots for Our Troops brochure. In addition to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain injuries, many veterans also battle homelessness and must cope with readjustment, distance from family members and other financial challenges.

Here's how you can help those who have so loyally helped us: come into the brewery in Tempe or Four Peaks Grill & Tap in Scottsdale, mention to the staff you're interested in participating and then make a $2 contribution for each pair of boots you'd like to have displayed on our donor recognition wall. The fund drive runs through July 6th.