The Next Draft

THE NEXT DRAFT Cracking open the can shortage

MATTHEW TOTA

Lately, I have spent more time than I would like to admit worrying about the aluminum can shortage in the U.S.

It started about a month ago at the Wegmans in Northboro. Seltzer water usually ends up being the last thing I cross off on my list — a couple 12-packs of Polar. Only, there were no Polar cans in the aisle. A robust supply of Polar cans at a Massachusetts grocery store is probably one of the few constants in this life. Not quite ready to declare the anomaly a sign of the end times, I left dumbfounded and with off-brand seltzer.

Then two weeks ago, Tree House Brewing Co. ratcheted up my mild unease to outright concern. The brewery put Green, one of its oldest and most beloved American IPAs, into bottles. If you know Tree House, you know it rarely bottles anything these days beyond stouts. No, Tree House’s vessel of choice is the 16-ounce can. The brewery even built a massive warehouse to store mountains of them. While most reacted to Tree House’s new bottles with excitement, relishing the novelty, I wondered if the national can shortage had possibly gotten worse.

Sure, Polar could have simply missed a delivery. Tree House’s Nate Lanier may have decided to bottle on a whim. Polar and Tree House have not divulged publicly how the can shortage has affected them.

And yet, the nation’s dwindling inventory of cans has been mostly a behind-the-scenes problem for craft brewers and other beverages — one caused by the rapid and extraordinary shift in beer sales from onpremise draft pours to off-premise sales caused by the pandemic. If it

N E W O N D V D CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

(Michael Smiley) and Molloy (Kerr Logan).

“Deep Blue Sea 3”: Dr. Emma Collins (Tania Raymonde) and her associates return to Little Happy island to study sharks as a suspicious team puts all their lives in jeopardy.

“Gunsmoke: The Complete Movie Collection”: Collection includes “Return to Dodge,” “The Last Apache” and “To the Last Man.”

“Infamous”: A couple on the gets any worse, we could see more empty soda and seltzer aisles, and more bottled beers.

Last month, the U.S. Brewers Association issued an advisory on the can shortage, attributing it to a larger overall demand for cans across all beverage industries, including soda, coffee, kombucha and even wine, as well as the spike in liquor store and bottle shop sales brought on by the pandemic.

“The can shortage may threaten the ability to survive the pandemic for some craft brewers,” the BA said. “The smallest brewers are most likely to have orders delayed or canceled, as can manufacturers are more efficient when they don’t have to change out the printing plates as often. A company ordering a half or full truckload may be less of a priority.”

But it’s not just the small breweries now that are struggling with the can shortage.

For the first time in a decade, Wormtown Brewery saw one of its can orders canceled. Wormtown managing partner David Fields said at least one of his friends, who runs a brewery that produces around 7,000 barrels per year, recently had three can shipments canceled because of low inventory.

Wachusett Brewing Co., the third largest brewery in the state, has also been dealing with canceled can loads.

“We are working closely with our supplier to prioritize and ship what matters most, but can supply is so strained right now with the seismic shift to off-premise sales that it is impossible for the supply chain to keep pace,” said Wachusett president Christian McMahan.

You may not have noticed fewer six-packs of Wachusett because the brewery has worked closely with its

lam (Bella Thorne and Jake Manley) livestream their robberies via social media.

“One Night in Bangkok”: A hit man (Mark Davascos) holds a cabbie hostage (Vanida Golten) as he makes his kills.

“SEAL Team: Season Three”:

The CBS series picks back up with Jason (David Boreanaz) and the team in Serbia.

“The Flash: The Complete Sixth

Season”: The CW series starring Grant Gustin as the beloved DC superhero marches on.

Cans are filled with Wachusett Blueberry along the line at Wachusett Brewery in April 2019. In response to the pandemic, breweries quickly shifted sales from on-premise draft pours to off-premise sales, and that has created a new problem: a shortage of cans. FILE PHOTO/ASHLEY GREEN

distributor to keep its markets satiated — for now. McMahan does not expect Wachusett’s can supplier to shore up its inventory any time soon, even with the anticipated slowdown in beer sales that typically arrives after Labor Day.

“There is generally a natural slowdown in can sales after Labor Day, but with hard seltzer trends remaining, along with an expected

“Washington”: Miniseries follows the life of the country’s first president. Jeff Daniels stars.

OUT ON DIGITAL HD AUG. 25

“Einstein’s Universe”: The 1979 documentary about the world’s most famous theoretical physicist has been remastered and digitally restored.

“One Man and His Shoes”:

Documentary explores the history and legacy of the American sensation that is Air Jordan sneakers.

OUT ON DIGITAL HD AUG. 28

“Centigrade”: After an intense snowstorm, a man (Vincent Piazza) continued shift to more off-premise sales, we suspect it will be some time before we are all out of the wood,” he said.

Tap Notes

Let’s get this out of the way now: Yes, fall beers have already arrived in stores. Yes, Shipyard Brewing Co. has released its famous Pumpkinhead more than a month before pumpkin and his pregnant wife (Genesis Rodriguez) remain trapped in their car.

“Driven to Abstraction”: Documentary examines an infamous $80 million art scheme.

“Entwined”: A doctor (Prometheus Aleifer) becomes enchanted by a reclusive woman (Maria Eglezaki) suffering from a mysterious skin condition. In Greek and English. Will be out on DVD and Blu-ray Sept. 8.

“Rogue”: A hired gun (Megan Fox) sets off with a team to Africa on a rescue mission. Look for it on DVD and Blu-ray Sept. 1 picking season in New England.

You shouldn’t be surprised.

And at this point, we all should get past griping about it. Instead, this year more than any other, let’s embrace the early fall beers as a sign of possibly better days ahead, the majesty of the changing leaves, crock pots of chili and piping hot Swedish meatballs, brisk mornings and, of

course, football.

L I S T E N U P CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

is it? “And I’ve got nothing but time,” sings Beaudet, “Senescent like aged wine/Don’t be so loud when you speak/The walls have teeth.”

It’s an interesting note on which to end such a surly album. It’s not what anyone would call an uplifting conclusion. Or is it? The album’s persona seems kind of happy with where he’s ended up. If there’s a joy to be found in nihilism, then it’s certainly to be found here.