Craft beers will soon be much more expensive after the price of hops soared due to the dry and hot weather blighting the hop harvest across Europe last year. This is likely to lead to an increase in prices, and a squeeze on profit margins for craft beer makers.

The price of some of the most popular hops has gone up as much as 50%, while other varieties have seen a five-fold increase.

Many brewers will have contracts with suppliers which protect them against sudden price surges if stocks last.

Demand has also been stretched by global beer giants buying craft beer brands and increasing their output.

“There has been a considerable tightening of supplies on the European hop market after the major reduction in the 2015 harvest with a sharp increase in prices,” said Stephan Barth from the Germany-based global hop merchant the Barth Haas Group.

“Europe will need at least an average harvest in 2016 otherwise we could see serious supply shortages,” he added.