Beer Is Being Rationed In The UK Due To A Shortage Of Carbon Dioxide

Cancel summer, because your worst nightmare has become a reality (if you live in the UK, that is). Beer is being rationed, and it’s not quite for the reason you might think. Thanks to an increase in demand for fizzy drinks and beer (is it really “coming home”) the UK’s biggest wholesaler is rationing their beer, cider, and soft drinks because of a shortage of food-grade Carbon Dioxide.

That’s right, you may be straight out of luck at the pub come Friday all because there’s a shortage of the 5th most prominent gas in the atmosphere (which we breathe out, btw). Booker, which supplies thousands of convenience stores along with restaurant chains is limiting beer and soft drinks cases to 10 per customer, and cider to 5 cases per customer.

A spokesperson for the wholesaler, said: “Due to the international shortage of CO2, we are experiencing some supply issues on soft drinks and beer.

“We are currently working hard with our suppliers to minimise the impact for our customers and to optimise availability with the stock that is available. Therefore, we cannot comment further at this stage.”

However, the heat and the World Cup aren’t solely to blame for the shortage, there have also been maintenance shutdowns at ammonia and bioethanol plants across Europe, which are the key sources of CO2.

Heineken admitted that the shortage had hit them while they promised to work hard to “minimise disruption” while Coca-Cola mentioned that they had temporarily paused production due to the shortage of gas. Here’s hoping that the C02 situation will be sorted out before England play their round of 16 game!