In large buildings outside Madrid, Spain’s capital, hop vines grow under special lights and close supervision.

A small company believes growing the vines will be important to ensuring a supply of an ingredient in beer, the world's most popular alcoholic drink.

Hops are traditionally grown in areas like Bavaria, Germany, the Czech Republic, or the northwestern United States. That is because the plants need a climate that has long summer days and mild temperatures.

However, research shows environmental changes are driving down yields and quality of hops. It is a growing problem for the beer industry.

Industry groups say U.S. production was down 12 percent in 2022, while German production decreased by 21 percent. Czech yields fell by more than 40 percent because of unusually hot weather.

Spain's Ekonoke is a kind of small business known as a start-up. Ekonoke is growing hop vines indoors to solve the problem. The company uses nearly 95 percent less water than traditional outdoor farming systems.