The USA has been under severe aluminium can shortage since the spring of 2020, and this recurring problem has resulted in the closure of many bars and outlets serving alcoholic beverages. Breweries were also largely affected by inflated operational costs. Right Brain Brewery, located in Traverse City, Michigan, was also not spared from the consequences, as internal reports claimed the prices were up by two cents per can.
The owner, Russell Springsteen, casually remarked that they had to outsource the supply from Asia at times to meet the community's demand because regional availability was becoming extremely scarce.
Russell Springsteen of Right Brain Brewery denoted: “Because we’re a smaller supplier, we were actually choked out of can supply when 2020 came around, and we lost a lot of shelf space due to that and are still fighting to get that back. For the big guys, it worked out really well for them. For the smaller, mid-sized breweries, it was more of a challenge.”
Springsteen is a self-made American who came to Traverse City as a hair artist and later changed his dreams into reality in 2017 when he founded Right Brain Brewery having its original tap flavours.
He also explained that the last year was not generous with the carbon supply, and the cost had surmounted by 40 per cent or almost 50 cents per pound.
Recently, Lucas Szymanowski, S27 Alehouse & Brewery co-founder, also talked about similar unavailability issues.
With the advent of COVID-19 and the word quarantine, people were exiled into the comfort of their homes for a long period of time, gradually increasing the demand for beverages in aluminium cans.
Aluminium is easy to dispose of. Unlike glass, it doesn’t shatter and break, giving the product a perfect chance to be returned for recycling. Moreover, with the world moving toward a better sustainable future, many companies have shifted and are only dependent on aluminium.
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