Britain in in the grips of a crisis, as low production and high demand for CO₂ bring the real possibility the country’s famously tepid beer will also be flat.
Carbon dioxide, whilst enjoying recent fame as a greenhouse gas, has long been employed to put bubbles in beer, and push it out of kegs and through taps.
Across Europe, there have been a wave of closures of major ammonia and bio-ethanol plants, and maintenance and technical issues with local CO₂ suppliers within the UK.
The production issues have brought a shortage of CO₂ throughout Britain, predominantly affecting the production of beer, with suppliers unable to deliver and breweries considering rationing of product.
And it couldn’t come at a worse time, with the nation “sweltering” in dreadful conditions “set to reach highs of 29°C”, and England soccer fans particularly thirsty, with the county one of the few tier one teams still remaining in World Cup 2018.
The British Beer and Pub Association’s Brigid Simmonds was surprisingly unshaken by the growing calamity, noting that some beers will simply not be there in the near future.
“If the beer you want isn’t available, just try another one,” she suggests.
The UK food and beverage industry is holding out hope a solution is found in the early stages of July.
