Beer drinkers may soon find it difficult to buy their favorite bottled drinks because of the shortage of glass jars due to increased energy consumption, a food and beverage wholesaler has warned.
Suppliers are already facing sourcing problems for glassware because of its high production capacity, which is 80% more expensive than last year. As a result, stocks fell, according to Dons Food & Drinks, one of Scotland’s largest retailers.
The shortage of glassware could soon be felt by the UK beer industry, says Julie Dunn, director of operations at the family-run wholesaler. “Our wine and spirits suppliers worldwide are facing an ongoing struggle that will have a knock-on effect,” he said. “As a result, the bottled beer we see on UK shelves may have less variety.”
He added that some brewers may be forced to switch to different containers for their products, which could push up prices for consumers in the face of rising food and beverage inflation.
“Expert bottles and glassware hold a very important place in the tradition of the beer industry and I hope that some breweries will be converted to cans to ensure consistent supply, others will see this as a devaluation of the brand, thus inevitably surpassing the extra cost. To the beer drinkers.”
The message follows a warning from the German beer industry, which said its small and medium-sized breweries could be hit by a shortage of glassware.
Beer is the UK’s most popular alcoholic beverage and by 2020 British consumers will have spent more than £ 7 billion on the drink.
Some Scottish brewers have already changed the cans to help keep the lid on packaging price increases. Edinburgh-based Vault City Brewing says it will sell almost all beers in cans instead of bottles from next month.
Steven Smith-Hay, co-founder of the company, said: “We started to introduce Can in our release schedule in January because of the challenges with rising costs and availability. “It was initially only for our season’s talk and supermarket range, but due to the high cost of production we decided to make all our beer from June only, except for a few special releases each year.”
Smith-Hay says the company is paying about 65p for a bottle, which represents a 30% increase in costs compared to six months ago. “If you think about the amount of beer we’re bottling as a microbrewery, the cost really starts to go up. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there. “
