Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 3, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 11 Sam Hendler, co-founder and CEO of Jack's Abby. "I can say for us, we're on allocation at a reduced amount of CO2 we can use compared to our contracted amounts. But we haven't run out. We have come close a few times this summer, but we have managed to stay in stock with CO2. "I can't get my supplier to fill my tank," Hendler continued. "ey keep me from running out, but they are giving me fills that are 30% of my tank, 40% of my tank, 20% of my tank, not 100% of my tank." at's a nervous place to be in for a brewery. Brewers have to navigate moving beer, packaging it, and keeping it fresh and need to have some assurances they won't run out of CO2 when they need it most. It's especially important for a brewery like Jack's Abby, which not only brews its own beer but has a contract to fulfill with Night Shi. A shutdown because of CO2 would then set back Jack's Abby own chain of supply. And if it did run out, a quick fix would be to have gas delivered, but that would come at a huge cost. "Spot market rates [for CO2] in early August, I was quoted for a spot delivery at 1,200% increase to my normal contracted rate," Hendler said. While most delays and shortages have become commonplace, a CO2 shortage still seems like a strange place to be in when there's no shortage of CO2 production around the world. e gas is a byproduct of manufacturing, and a lot of those businesses capture the gas as a secondary product to sell. But, unlike their main business, it's secondary by nature and not viewed as a vital cog in the system. So, when an ammonia plant in Canada has issues with its carbon capture system or delays in its production, then CO2 supplies are diminished and strain is put on other sources to move the gas to producers who need it, causing a kink in the global system. While beer drinkers know beer is made of malt, hops and water, they don't realize that CO2 is an ingredient as well and needs to be pure. Some CO2 capture can bring impurities like rust and oil. CO2 needs to be cleaned and stay contaminate-free for brewers to use it to purge tanks and packaging so beer isn't oxidized and losing flavor while resting. en, the beer needs to be pumped with CO2 so it's carbonated. If there's impurities in the CO2, they're passed on to the consumer. Solutions, old and new Steinberg took action when he was informed there might be limits to what CO2 he gets or the supplier could run dry and not be able to honor the contract. "e one thing it has done for us, and this is something we have been doing for the last year and a half, is being more reserved with our usage and being more cognizant of the fact that we want to not use as much CO2 as we possibly can," Steinberg said. "It's a greenhouse gas that we understand is not the most positive thing for the environment, so we do our best to conserve as much CO2 usage as possible and we do that with a variety of processes." Steinberg has put his more than 25 years of brewing experience to good use as he and his team find ways to conserve CO2. Business Banking Insured by NCUA iccreditunion.org | 800-262-1001 Business Solutions doesn't have to come from a bank. continues on page 12 PHOTO | ERIKA SIDOR

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