BEER will be short supply, more expensive and may taste different as climate change affects barley production, a scientist says.
Drought conditions in parts of Australia where malting barley was grown was likely to get worse, according to Jim Salinger of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
Barley production in the main growing region of Canterbury in New Zealand - where brewing giant Lion Nathan gets about 70 per cent of its malted barley - would also be affected, the New Zealand Press Association said.
"It will mean either there will be pubs without beer or the cost of beer will go up," he said.
Malting barley production in Australia was likely to be hit hard in parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and NSW.
The dry areas of Australia would become drier and water shortages would get worse.
"It will provide a lot of challenges for the brewing industry," Dr Salinger said.
He said breweries could be forced to look at new varieties of malt.
Dr Salinger told the Institute of Brewing and Distilling convention in Auckland today that by 2100, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases - measured in equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide - would be double, and possibly four times pre-industrial levels, leading to further climate warming.
"Most areas in Australia where malting barley is cropped are likely to experience producing declines," he said.
Dear god people, fuck droughts and floods, this time climate change has gone too far. It's time to act now!
I love Australian news.
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
-Winston Churchhill
I think a part of my sanity has been lost throughout this whole experience. And some of my foreskin - My cheating work colleague at it again
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Zablorg wrote:Poke fun all you like, but I for one actually think climate change will be taken far more seriously by many.
It may in the end, but I was mostly indicating that I prefer bourbon whiskey over beer, not that I disagree with the article.
Perhaps I should have added <sarcasm> tags?
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
I, on the other hand, was poking fun. I agree climate change may be taken more seriously by many, but in general, I doubt those who could have any reasonable effect on climate change would be spurred into action by this piece of news.
And yet it made the front page of new.com.au, go figure.
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
-Winston Churchhill
I think a part of my sanity has been lost throughout this whole experience. And some of my foreskin - My cheating work colleague at it again
I read some articles on climate change that talk about the economic aspects on Australia agriculture....... The main leading headline was how wineyards in Australia were going under. LOL.
Let him land on any Lyran world to taste firsthand the wrath of peace loving people thwarted by the myopic greed of a few miserly old farts- Katrina Steiner
PainRack wrote:I read some articles on climate change that talk about the economic aspects on Australia agriculture....... The main leading headline was how wineyards in Australia were going under. LOL.
Well, South Australia alone has a $1 billion wine industry, so it's not an insignificant sector of our economy.
"I would say that the above post is off-topic, except that I'm not sure what the topic of this thread is, and I don't think anybody else is sure either."
- Darth Wong Free Durian - Last updated 27 Dec
"Why does it look like you are in China or something?" - havokeff
Hm. Here's hoping we don't get riots or some stupid thing like that when the prices shoot up...
Incidentally, this is probably the first change we've noted that isn't going to affect my life directly much, if at all. Beer definitely isn't my drink of choice.
PainRack wrote:I read some articles on climate change that talk about the economic aspects on Australia agriculture....... The main leading headline was how wineyards in Australia were going under. LOL.
Well, South Australia alone has a $1 billion wine industry, so it's not an insignificant sector of our economy.
$1Billion is a conservative figure IIRC. Unfortunately part of my work involves IT support for some of those wine producers - so them going down will personally affect me.
