I read about some sad news this morning. It seems that in addition to making island nations disappear and driving polar bears toward extinction, global climate change has contributed to another, undeniably more heinous offence – destroying the quality of beer.
Source: deege@fermentarium.com
Reported in the journal Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, the paper, titled The impact of climate change on the yield and quality of Saaz hops in the Czech Republic reports that important flavour-influencing compounds (referred to as alpha-acids) in Czech hops have been decreasing over the last 50 years, correlated with increasing average air temperatures during this time, and the trend is liable to continue. I’m sure more validation is in order, but if true, then global warming has crossed the line.
Climate Change should know the rules of engagement set out in the Taurus conference (Al Gore giving a talking to himself in his car). Those rules were:
- No cute and cuddly animals are to be harmed. Mosquitoes are fair game.
- Unreasonably warm winters are welcome. Unreasonably hot summers are not.
- Beer, coffee, cheese, and other delicious foods and beverages are not to be tampered with.
- You do not talk about fight club.
Of course if Global Warming is indeed playing hardball and we will continue to see the quality of our pilsners drop with time, I see only one logical way to deal with this.
Drink up!
Discovery Space Disco: Now We Have a Problem: Global Warming is Impacting Beer Production
Research Article: The impact of climate change on the yield and quality of Saaz hops in the Czech Republic
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