EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - Massachusetts breweries are facing production difficulties due to a carbon dioxide shortage. Night Shift Brewing in Everett is facing the possibility of laying off some of their staff.
“Last week, we got a call from our CO2 supplier, and they basically said ‘There is a shortage of CO2, and we don’t know when we’re going to have your next supply in. I’m sorry, but you might run out soon,'” said Night Shift Brewing Co-Founder Michael Oxton.
Oxton said this is not the brewery’s only problem, as its Everett location is struggling to make its small space fit the company’s needs. The company has been trying to solve their spacing problem for years. However, the lack of CO2, a critical part of brewing beer, was the last straw, forcing them to move production out of Everett and possibly lay off some of their staff.
“Everyone is going to have a job through at least October. After that point, we’re probably going to have to lay off some staff,” said Oxton. “It was a terrible conversation to have. No one ever wants to share that news.”
All Night Shift staffers on the production team will be paid through October 1. Anyone laid off after that will be offered a severance package.
Night Shift said that for now, production will shift to Jack’s Abbey and The Guild in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
According to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild, the CO2 shortage has also caused problems for other Massachusetts breweries and others nationwide.
“It’s definitely a scary time to be a production brewery,” said Oxton.
Massachusetts Brewers Guild Executive Director Katie Stinchon said the CO2 shortage is a result of both planned and unplanned maintenance shutdowns at several major CO2 suppliers. Stinchon also mentioned that a major source of CO2 in Mississippi could be contaminated.
“I think that’s where things really bubbled up for us, and it seems out of nowhere, all of a sudden, my brewers were getting notices from their suppliers stating that future deliveries might be in jeopardy or that they can’t even fulfill current orders that have been placed,” said Stinchon.
The Brewers Guild said they are trying to make connections with other vendors to sustain the breweries until the supply chain steadies.
Lamplighter Brewing Company said they remain concerned despite their distributor has not being impacted by the shortage.
“It is very anxiety-invoking for a lot of breweries, especially with the uncertainty and the lack of communication,” said Lamplighter Brewing Company Brewmaster Tyler Fitzpatrick. “It’s word of mouth, and people are just scrambling trying to find information.”
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