by KYW's Jim Melwert

Beer connoisseurs could be digging deeper into their pockets in the near future.

Tom Kehoe is the President of Yards Brewing Company in Philadelphia.  He says hops prices are going through the roof.:

"We use close to 3000-4000 pounds of hops in a quarter, and hops are jumping from where they were stable at about $5.50 a pound to maybe $18-20 a pound."

Kehoe says the prices of other ingredients are also going up considerably, with barley jumping about 25-percent.

Smaller breweries are also feeling the pinch. 

Brewmaster at the General Lafayette Inn in Lafayette Hill, Chris Leonard:

"Hops have become priceless, in that we cannot even get any hops whatsoever.  The supply has just been completely exhausted for the year."

Leonard says they'll get creative with the beer menu in hopes of keeping prices stable.