Beer Could Fall Flat for World Cup as CO₂ Runs Short

A shortage of CO₂ could take the fizz out of beer and other sparkling drinks this summer, just as the World Cup and barbecue season get under way.

The UK has only two plants producing carbon dioxide and one is closed for maintenance, threatening to leave drinks makers high and dry.

“It’s already stopping production,” said Brigid Simmonds, head of the British Beer and Pub Association.

She has written to CO₂ producers asking them to rectify the situation.

Demand for beer and fizzy drinks is peaking as fans gather to watch the football, thanks to the recent run of hot weather.

Carbon dioxide doesn’t just put the fizz into soft drinks, canned and bottled beers. It also delivers beer at the pub pumps and is additionally used to pack fresh meat and salads.

It comes from ammonia plants that manufacture fertiliser. But as demand for fertiliser peaks in winter, manufacturers often shut down during the summer for maintenance work.

Currently at least five CO₂ producers across northern Europe are offline for maintenance, according to Gasworld, which first reported the issue.

Gasworld said carbonated drinks producers were now "desperate" amid the worst CO₂ supply crisis for decades.

Beer stoppages

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which represents brewers and 20,000 UK pubs, said the CO₂ shortage was beginning to cause stoppages in beer production, although it did not name specific companies.

As much as 82% of beer consumed in the UK is produced here, requiring carbon dioxide. Ms. Simmonds said.

She said she had written to CO₂ suppliers and one producer had said it would be able to get limited production back on stream at the beginning of July.

“You could have foreseen this. We’ve got the World Cup, which is as exciting in Germany as it is here,” said Ms. Simmonds

“Quite why they didn’t anticipate this, I don’t know.”

The BBPA has also issued some guidance to its members reminding them that CO₂ used in drinks, including for dispensing beer at the pumps, must be food grade CO₂.

“We’d be concerned this is not the time to go looking for a white van man who says they can supply you with CO₂,” she said.

Gavin Partington, director general at the British Soft Drinks Association, said soft drinks producers were “taking active steps to maintain their service to customers”.

He said that also included working with their suppliers and looking at alternative sources of CO₂.