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Beer may lose its fizz as CO2 supplies go flat during pandemic
Reuters ^ | April 18, 2020 6:08 AM | Stephanie Kelly, Lisa Baertlein

Posted on 04/18/2020 11:13:43 AM PDT by Olog-hai

Dwindling supplies of carbon dioxide from ethanol plants is sparking concern about shortages of beer, soda and seltzer water — essentials for many quarantined Americans.

Brewers and soft-drink makers use carbon dioxide, or CO2, 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% in the United States.

The lack of ethanol output is disrupting this highly specialized corner of the food industry, as 34 of the 45 U.S. ethanol plants that sell CO2 have idled or cut production, said Renewable Fuels Association Chief Executive Geoff Cooper. …

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food
KEYWORDS: beer; carbondioxide; carbonicacid; fizz
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To: Olog-hai

OK, this is a REAL national emergency! It’s time to mobilize the captains of industry to fix this.

Won’t somebody please think of the children!!!


41 posted on 04/18/2020 1:47:17 PM PDT by GaryCrow
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To: Olog-hai

Don’t use it in my Mead.


42 posted on 04/18/2020 1:48:28 PM PDT by dljordan
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To: TexasM1A

“Drink Guiness, they use a nitrogen widget, plus it taste good.”

I HATE those things.


43 posted on 04/18/2020 1:49:52 PM PDT by dljordan
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To: Olog-hai

Soda is the only item on sale at our Kroger’s.


44 posted on 04/18/2020 2:35:29 PM PDT by GailA (I'm a Trump Girl)
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To: xp38

I mentioned to my wife a couple weeks ago that I am gonna start home brewing again soon, been supplying hops to small brewers but only when the beer runs out. I grow all the necessary ingredients and used to do it a lot.


45 posted on 04/18/2020 2:39:47 PM PDT by CJ Wolf ( #wwg1wga #gin&tonic #godwins)
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To: dljordan

Mead is wine, not beer.


46 posted on 04/18/2020 2:40:18 PM PDT by ThePatriotsFlag (Congress is not made up of leaders however they are representatives of their voters.)
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To: Yogafist

OOPS that was 2019. Sorry. We bought several, but we really liked Foggier Window (my son is over now and has a much better memory than the old man).


47 posted on 04/18/2020 3:02:11 PM PDT by PGalt
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To: PGalt

OK. I was wondering if Monkish had been around that long. Time flies.


48 posted on 04/18/2020 3:06:22 PM PDT by Yogafist
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To: jeffc

No, real beer has its own CO2 fizz.

From the site: https://www.thespruceeats.com/why-is-beer-fizzy-353152

What Is Natural Carbonation?
Natural carbonation results from the fermentation process. Fermentation produces alcohol and carbon dioxide as yeast digests the sugar in the wort. Although most of the carbon dioxide is allowed to escape during fermentation, the brewer will seal the beer in a container when it is almost complete. This is how natural carbonation is used to carbonate beer in holding vessels at the brewery and in casks.

Another way to use natural carbonation is in the bottle. In this case, the beer is allowed to ferment completely. It is left unfiltered which leaves active yeast suspended in it. Then a small amount of sugar is added at bottling time. Once the bottles are sealed and the yeast begins to act on the sugar, carbon dioxide is released and absorbed by the beer.


49 posted on 04/18/2020 3:09:10 PM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The prisons do not fill themselves. Get moving, Barr!)
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To: Cboldt
Real beer makes its own

It most certainly does. American beer tends to be overgassed anyway. "So the people have no CO2, do they? Let them drink nitrogen!" Marie Antoinette said that, or she would have if they hadn't cut her head off.

50 posted on 04/18/2020 3:13:16 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Yogafist

I’m drinking a German Weizenbock I brewed (my first decoction) earlier this year. I keg as well, except for a barley wine I made with a buddy in January. We like to bottle those so we can cellar.

Luckily, I have plenty of CO2 for now.


51 posted on 04/18/2020 3:14:40 PM PDT by brewer1516
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To: brewer1516
👍
52 posted on 04/18/2020 3:16:39 PM PDT by Yogafist
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To: dljordan
The Mead Song
53 posted on 04/18/2020 4:39:57 PM PDT by Don W (When blacks riot, neighbourhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn.)
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To: ThePatriotsFlag

“Mead is wine, not beer.”

Many people carbonate their Mead. I know that Mead is not Beer.


54 posted on 04/18/2020 4:51:14 PM PDT by dljordan
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To: Olog-hai

What a bunch of Bul, er malarkey, just where exactly did these buffoons presume CO2 was gotten from before we subjugated a food crop for ethanol production?


55 posted on 04/18/2020 5:36:07 PM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: rockinqsranch

Funny I thought CO2 was a by product of beer brewing, more produced than then left behind.


56 posted on 04/18/2020 5:37:51 PM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: rockinqsranch

I have in the past force carbed, worked welL. But In 5 gallon kegs it’s easier.


57 posted on 04/18/2020 7:39:03 PM PDT by BigpapaBo (If it don't kill you it'll make you _________!)
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To: Olog-hai
Rut rho! Time to crank up my Mr. Beer fermentation tank. 😉
58 posted on 04/19/2020 8:15:24 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight neiyour way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Olog-hai
And that means I'll have to start hoarding SodaStream Carbonators.
59 posted on 04/19/2020 10:21:39 AM PDT by asinclair (Political hot air is a renewable energy resource)
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To: Olog-hai

Will we be seeing charts of upside down hockey sticks?


60 posted on 04/19/2020 10:25:09 AM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised but It Will Be Livestreamed)
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