Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | October 3, 2022 | wbjournal.com Central Mass. breweries are adjusting to concerns over carbon dioxide shortages, relying on solutions developed centuries ago, along with new technology BY KEVIN KOCZWARA WBJ Staff Writer F or two days in early September, Wormtown Brewery in Worcester went without carbon dioxide. e brewery could still brew beer, but it couldn't do many of the vital processes that get beer from the brewery to the consumer – can, bottle, purge tanks and glassware, carbonate – because its tanks stood empty. ere's been a near-constant fear for brewers that the shortage of CO2 for the previous two-plus years will leave them stranded like Wormtown was for those few fateful days: lurching and waiting, trying to figure out how to get themselves back on track. While the short hiatus of gas wasn't detrimental to Wormtown, it did act as another reminder we're living in a global economy with its supply chains squeezed and at any moment what seems like a little problem or worry could balloon into catastrophe. It's a "reminder that the pre- COVID the supply chain was well orchestrated," said Ben Roesch, Wormtown's brewmaster and co- founder, said. Talk of CO2 shortages has become commonplace among brewers in Central Massachusetts. While Everett- based Night Shi Brewing's move away from producing its own beer at its own facilities in Everett to contracting its operations to Jack's Abby Brewing LLC in Framingham caused a stir because Night Shi announced it didn't have any CO2, the reality was the shortage had been around since before the pandemic. ere was a short supply of gas for some time, but no distributor had run out and until Night Shi announced its move away from production, no one in the general public really knew about the issue. But brewers like Matthew Steinberg of Exhibit 'A' Brewing Co. in Framingham were already getting warnings to be ready for possible interruptions. Steinberg received notice as the pandemic began that gas would be tight but his contract would be honored. He just needed to be more cautious with his CO2 use. "Understand this is a consumable product and may not be readily available, and that you should do your best to conserve and use as little as possible for your needs," Steinberg said. A vital ingredient What the Night Shi news did do is it let consumers know about one of the many struggles brewers were having with the supply chain, which has been in various stages of disruptions since COVID-19 shut the global economy down in March 2020. e systems once in place to move goods around the world were stalled and backlogged, causing delays and rising costs as well as disrupted availability. It sent the global economy into a tailspin it's still not recovered from. "ere is definitely pretty extreme tightness in the marketplace," said Beer's (almost) missing ingredient Ben Roesch, co-founder and brewmaster at Wormtown Brewery Sam Hendler, CEO and co-founder of Jack's Abby Brewing PHOTO | ERIKA SIDOR Matthew Steinberg, owner and brewer for Exhibit 'A" Brewing in Framingham, has been moderating his CO2 use for more than two years.

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