America’s Next Crushing Shortage Could Be Beer
(Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
While it certainly feels that we’re on the waning side of the pandemic, the shortages continue. The next one could really hurt. According to Axios, the next crushing shortage could be beer.
If you think “crushing” is too strong a word, just think about it. Football season is here. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are coming. The holiday season will be followed by the college bowl games and NFL playoffs. A beer shortage could be catastrophic. (Okay, maybe “catastrophic” is too strong a word, but I stand by “crushing.”)
One reason for the looming shortage of America’s favorite beverage is a diminished supply of carbon dioxide, which is what gives beer its delightful effervescence. The main problem is natural contamination at the Jackson Dome, a reservoir of CO2 from an extinct volcano in Mississippi.
As an alternative to CO2, beer makers are looking at using nitrogen instead. In the meantime, be prepared to possibly miss out on your favorite brew or, at the very least, pay a lot more for it. That’s already happening.
The higher beer prices we’re seeing are largely due to inflation and supply chain issues. A CO2 shortage will only make it worse. I recently had a very tasty lager at a bar in Charlotte’s Belmont neighborhood. I thought about going to Total Wine for a six-pack to take home. Then I saw that the six-pack cost $15.49.
North Carolina Has One Of The Top Cities For Beer Lovers
Here in Charlotte, we love our beers. In fact, the entire state of North Carolina is filled with beer lovers. So that’s why I wasn’t surprised to discover that one North Carolina city made HomeToGo’s list of the Top 17 US Cities for Beer Lovers. It may come as a bit of a shock (or maybe not), that it isn’t in fact Charlotte. It’s not Raleigh, either. Think you know? You’re probably right. I’ll give you a hint, this beer lovers’ paradise is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is one of my favorite places to visit. Though I have to say, I haven’t spent much time in the brewery scene. Maybe this will convince me to change that!
So about this list. HomeToGo scoured the country to find what they consider the best cities for the beer obsessed among us. They narrowed down the list to the Top 17 – the top 10 of which are below. The ranking takes into consideration bars, breweries, beer prices, as well as accommodations. The bar score represents the number of high rate beer bars in each city based on ratebeer.com. The brewery score is based on the number of breweries in each city. Spoiler alert in this case that was our South Carolina friends in Myrtle Beach. Who knew? And the beer price is based on the average price for a pint of domestic draught beer.
Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.
