Oh, the humanity!!

Yakima warehouse fire destroys 4% of nation’s yield of hops
About 4 percent of the nation’s total hop yield was lost to fire Monday, as 2 million pounds of the pungent beer-making crop smoldered in a Yakima warehouse. The fire began just before noon in a Division Street warehouse leased by S.S. Steiner Inc., filling the sky with smoke. It was under control by Monday evening, allowing cleanup crews to start hauling away the damaged hops. “This will affect the U.S. market particularly because in some of the varieties, there was a feeling we were already a little short this year,” said Ann George, the administrator for the Washington Hop Commission. . . . As for the hop industry, the fallout from the fire remains to be seen. Depending on the varieties involved in the fire, there could be sudden increases in demand for certain hops, George said. Though most of this year’s crop has been contracted for already, the fire could lead to increased prices next year, she said.

I plan to bury 6 kegs of IPA tomorrow, just in case.