WACO, Texas — Central Texas breweries are hoping to avoid the industry's supply chain problems as the tap dries up for some across the country.
Shortages of ingredients and increased prices are causing some concern for brewers nationwide.
On the heels of its Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, Waco Ale Company has seen the prices of ingredients for its beer and food steadily climb this year.
"Luckily our suppliers have good about letting us know when it's gonna happen," said owner Brett Stewart.
One of the main culprits of rising prices is grain, which Stewart said can make a large impact on overall cost.
Waco Ale; however, is doing its best to pass off as little as possible onto its customers.
"We've had to find ways in other areas of our business to cut costs," Stewart said.
The Brewer's Association, which provides data on independent brewers nationwide, shows the price of malt is up more than ten percent from 2020.
But there's another shortage looming. Some brewers are struggling to get enough carbon dioxide to brew.
Waco Ale isn't having issues getting CO2 just yet, but Stewart is thinking ahead just in case.
"Just in case the truck doesn't come overnight and fill up our big tank, we've got backups," he said.
According to supply chain expert at Baylor University, Pedro Reyes, shortages across the board aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
"By the time we get back to normalcy, we'll have forgotten what that looks like. We're gonna be happy with what we have," Reyes said.
In fact, Reyes said for some industries, they could come in waves for several more years.
