Climate change is now hitting hops. A new study suggests our warming planet is affecting the beer crop in central Europe. That seems far away from southeastern Wisconsin, but local brewers and scientists suggest otherwise. At Milwaukee's Black Husky Brewing, dealing with weather is nothing new. "We're used to having variations. It's an agricultural product. We know that," Black Husky's co-owner and master brewer Tim Eichinger told 12 News. "But right now, we're seeing such, you know, peaks and valleys. And those are so extreme."This new study published in Nature Communications looks at central Europe, where many brewers, including Black Husky, get some of its hops. It's the plant that gives beer its bitter taste. "What's happening with hops with climate change is that it is getting hotter, and there's more droughts," Stefan Schnitzer, an ecology professor at Marquette University, said. "What's happening is that when temperatures go up, those flowers develop too fast, and they're not developing all of what are called the alpha acids that are necessary to produce really tasty beer."That means brewers will likely need to use more hops to create the same beer taste, but Schnitzer said the research suggests there may not be enough hops to go around. "There's a global hop shortage. They need more hops, and they're producing less," he said. It's forcing the Brewers to adjust. Eichinger said there could be a silver lining, suggesting more brewers could turn to Wisconsin and Michigan hops farms to fill the gap created by the central European farms. But there's another adjustment beer drinkers may notice. "Will people taste a different beer here at Black Husky in the future?" 12 News Hannah Hilyard asked Eichinger. "Probably not. What it's going to do is it's going to impact the price," he said. Schnitzer agreed."They may not notice a difference in the flavor, but they may notice a difference in price," he said.It's unclear how soon, but Schnitzer has some suggestions for beer drinks in the meantime. "If you love beer, what you really need to do is fight climate change."