Are Craft Hop Trends Sustainable?

Dear Client: What happened to all the discussion around raw materials? There seemed a serious hop shortage for craft brewers back in 2008, and more recent crop shortages, quality and contract issues were enough to threaten price increases. But lately we've been hearing from craft suppliers more about the longer(ish)-term view. At last month's Sierra distributor meeting, for example, Ken Grossman summed the state of the union on hop supply from his part of the field. He estimates that about