It’s Last Call for Cheap Beer

Soaring barley and aluminum prices spell bad news for a sector that’s just beginning its comeback.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

All this talk of inflation could drive a person to drink. But even that’s getting more expensive.

Beer input costs are soaring across the globe, fueled by withering barley supplies and surging aluminum costs, plus the same labor and transport bottlenecks plaguing every other industry.