HHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!
This cannot be happening. What will we do?? This can’t be real right?
Dwindling supplies of carbon dioxide from ethanol plants is sparking concern about shortages of beer, soda and seltzer water but more importantly BEER.
Brewers and soft-drink makers use carbon dioxide, for carbonation, which gives beer and soda fizz. Ethanol producers are a key provider of CO2 to the food industry, as they capture that gas as a byproduct of ethanol production and sell it in large quantities.
But ethanol, which is blended into the nation's gasoline supply, has seen production drop sharply due to the drop in gasoline demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gasoline demand is down by more than 30 percent in the United States.
34 of the 45 US ethanol plants that sell CO2 have idled or cut production. CO2 suppliers to beer brewers have increased prices by about 25 percent due to reduced supply, said Bob Pease, chief executive officer of the Brewers Association.
"The problem is accelerating. Every day we're hearing from more of our members about this," said Pease, who expects some brewers to start cutting production in two to three weeks.
The lack of CO2 also effects meat producers, as they use CO2 in processing, packaging, preservation and shipment.
This is a slippery slope. First we lose beer and then the next we know Americans are reduced to making toilet wine in their homes like they are in prison.