Breweries warn of supply problems due to glass shortage
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The beautiful Danish word Ølfrygt refers to the fear of beer running out and the threat of a supply shortage. What used to be a joke at late hours at flat-share kitchen parties in college is now a serious scenario. This summer, for example, beer prices are rising due to problems with the energy supply - and there are also bottlenecks in the supply of glass.
- Glass supply for the brewing industry falters
- Higher energy costs in beer production are passed on to end consumers
- Brewery suppliers are looking for employees
In an article published on Spiegel Online on 18 May 2022, German brewers warn of a shortage of beer bottles. For example, there are problems in the manufacturing process, because glass production is very energy-intensive and therefore also very expensive at the moment. In addition, there is a shortage of truck drivers to transport the raw materials and also the finished containers to the breweries and filling stations.
The problematic glass supply is only one aspect of this; there are also price increases in other areas.
"The cost increases are going beyond all dimensions," Holger Eichele, General Manager of the German Brewers' Association, is quoted in the Spiegel article: "Whether pallets, brewing malt, beer mats or crown corks - prices are going through the roof. We have never experienced anything like this before."
Smaller breweries face problems
This could become problematic especially for smaller breweries that do not have long-term contracts with bottle producers. Beer diversity in Germany is thus threatened. Beer lovers would also have to reckon with price increases.
So it is not only at the tables in flat-sharing communities that Ølfrygt is likely to reign this summer. But end consumers can do something very concrete to counter this fear: An effective measure that can at least counteract the shortage of glass in the beer supply is not to hoard the returnable bottles, but to quickly return them to the supply cycle.
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