Alcohol Shortage Starting To Impact Northland

The pandemic sure did a number on the global supply chain. There are so many factors to all of it. Production has slowed because of social distancing and shutdowns. Consumer demand has changed in so many cases causing an unpredictable market. The labor shortage we are facing now is causing issues in the supply chain. It's a very strange time, and many people have found themselves having a drink to cope. That now too is beginning to be a supply problem.

I was unaware of this potential shortage until yesterday. I was at the Belknap Liquor & Lounge having a drink when the bartender was talking to the owner about how they were now out of certain bottles of beer. I laughed and asked, "What do you mean you're out of beer?" They told me some inside information. The bottles come from overseas, and they are all stuck on those shipping containers on the log jammed west coast. So the problem is not that we have a booze shortage, but more of a bottle and container shortage. It's already causing problems globally. Some places in the United States are seeing it more drastically than we are here, but we may just be a little bit behind.

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A story from ABC 13 goes even further into packaging woes. They can't get glass for the bottles, and they can't even get the glue to put 12 pack boxes together because that comes from China, too.

Alcohol sales changed so much with people drinking at home, that now when bars and restaurants open up, they are running into issues stocking their liquor shelves. The price is going up too on what they can get. These poor bar & restaurant owners just can't catch a break these last couple of years.

It's not just glass bottle shortages. There's also plastic bottle supply issues as well. Aluminum made for cans and kegs also is not easily attainable. This could mean that your favorite brand of beer or spirits may be hard to come by. They expect the supply issues to continue into the first quarter of 2022. It's not clear what the future will hold for us in the Northland. Odds are you'll still be able to get a drink, it may just not be your favorite brand if things get worse.