FRANKENMUTH -- The price of beer could jump 40%.
It’s all thanks to Russia’s record breaking heat wave, and the country's ban on grain exports.
NBC25 takes a look at how this is affecting Michigan’s oldest brewery.
The Frankenmuth Brewery is now paying close to 5% more for some beer ingredients; it’s a cost they hope their customers will never have to pay for.
This $4.00 beer may soon cost $1.60 more.
Economic experts are predicting a 40% price hike on beer because of poor barley harvests in Europe and a ban on wheat exports in Russia.
“I don't worry about that stuff, I worry about the best beer that we can produce here,” said Jeff Coon, who is the Brewmaster at the Frankenmuth Brewery.
Since the Frankenmuth brewery re-opened a year ago, the cost of a cold one has stayed the same.
The president says they're absorbing the higher wheat and barley prices to stay competitive.
“In this tough economy, the more customers you can get in, the better chance we have of making it,” said Haithem Saraf, the President of Frankenmuth Brewery.
The Frankenmuth Brewery buys most of its products domestically, but in order to brew their German lagers, they must pay higher prices for their malted barley from Europe.
"We have very specific recipes, so we need to use those ingredients, but at the same time we watch the yield and how we make the product, so that we can hopefully hold the prices for our customers," said Saraf.
But the president says if his competitors’ prices go up, so will his.
One customer says he'd gladly pay more for his favorite frosty lager.
“I just like drinking beer, so I guess I’ll have to pick up some more shifts,” said Nick Wozinak, a customer at the Frankenmuth Brewery.
And the rising cost of beer ingredients won't stop the brewmaster from making close to 4,000 barrels this year.
"I say don't worry, have a beer," said Coon.
So…we did.
No matter how high beer prices may go, beer lovers say they'll always find an excuse to drink a cold one.
The brewmaster says he hopes the cost of making beer won't get in the way of revitalizing the beer industry in Michigan.
The Frankenmuth brewery is one of 80 breweries in Michigan.
