Glass half empty: Carbon dioxide shortage causing some craft breweries to consider tapping out
After almost two and a half grueling years of shutdowns, restrictions, staff shortages, and rising prices for ingredients, some local breweries are now having to contend with yet another threat to their business models: limited supplies of carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is an essential component of the crisp beer experience. CO2 gives beer a bubbly, foamy appearance and taste. It is also important for transmitting beers through taps and canning lines.
“Warm and flat is not where it’s at,” said Bob Pease, the president and CEO of the Brewers Association. “It’s a key ingredient.”
But now because of unreliable supply chain lines and contamination at a major CO2 facility, many small breweries are left feeling high and dry.
Night Shift Brewing, in Everett, Massachusetts, near Boston, has already announced that it will have to suspend operations and lay off personnel soon because of the CO2 shortage.- READ MORE
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