Summary
U.S. barley farmers face mounting financial pressure as Trump’s tariffs spark fears of losing key export markets.
Canada, the top importer of U.S. malt barley, has already imposed retaliatory tariffs, and Mexico may follow. Farmers warn that rising fertilizer and chemical costs, combined with declining U.S. beer consumption, threaten their survival.
Breweries may absorb or pass higher costs to consumers, potentially raising beer prices.
Experts say tariffs could devastate barley exports, with industry leaders calling them a major blow to struggling American farmers.
The culture around beer shifted from cheap low alcohol content drinks with little variation, to more expensive high alcohol content drinks with a ton of variation. Then, as with anything that hits a “trend”, the market tries to capitalize on it beyond what demand actually cares to express, and prices go so far through the roof that nobody gives a shit anymore.
Nobody that was already drinking cares about the health issues (or at least they didn’t just suddenly change out of the blue). They just got a taste for something that gradually got priced out. If you got your taste for beers on fancy 10%ABV stouts that now cost $7 a can/bottle, you aren’t going to just buy whatever is now in your price range. You just stop buying beer, and get other shit.