Brewery feels the economy's suds

MANAYUNK, Pa. - May 15, 2008 The Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant makes about 1600 barrels of lager and ales a year.

Two key ingredients in beer making are hops and barley; barley is up about 30 percent, hops is up even more and 55 pounds of hops is used to make 15 barrels of beer.

"Some of my German hops, for example, used to cost 3.50 a pound last year, this year, I'm paying 19 straight," brewmaster Chris Firey said.

There are a number of economic reasons including poor crops in Europe, higher demand in places like China, and farmers growing less

Chris Firey says his establishment is trying to hold the line on prices, but not for long.

While beer prices continue to rise, along with just about every other commodity, waitresses say tips are going down.