DES MOINES, Iowa - A shortage of a key ingredient in beer has shown that even business competitors can come together over a cold one now and then.

That happened last week when the nation's largest craft brewery, Boston Beer Co., the maker of the Samuel Adams brand, agreed to share 20,000 pounds of its hops with craft brewers throughout the country, including two in Iowa.

An extended worldwide shortage of hops has left smaller brewers unable to buy the important perennial flower that adds some of the bitterness and aroma to beer.

About six weeks ago Boston Beer sent out notifications to small brewers that it wanted to help them by making available some of its hops at cost. The company said it received 352 requests totaling about 100,000 pounds, much more than it could give away.

"It shows how great the need is and I felt really bad," said Boston Beer Co. founder Jim Koch. "We even fudged it a little and went over the 20,000 pounds, but we just don't have the capability of filling this hole ourselves."

Koch said the company looked at its supply of hops and decided to live up a long established culture among craft brewers.

"We view each other as colleagues not as competitors," he said.