Moscow bars are running low on beer and being forced to wait longer than normal for fresh supplies.GETTY IMAGES
Beer-guzzling fans "risk drinking bars and restaurants in the Russian capital dry," with some saying that they are "running low and having to wait longer than usual for fresh supplies," according to Jack Stubbs of REUTERS. Moscow has been "transformed by the World Cup, with singing, chanting and beer swilling fans overwhelming some of the packed bars and restaurants" around the Kremlin and Red Square. One waiter at a restaurant in central Moscow, "who asked not to be identified for fear of scaring off future customers," said, "We just didn’t think they would only want beer." He added that his restaurant "ran out of draft lager on Monday and deliveries are taking longer than usual," at least 24 hours, because suppliers’ stocks "are also running low." He said, "There are really a lot of people in Moscow ... and they are all drinking. It’s hot, and it’s football." Heineken, Baltika -- the Russian unit of Carlsberg -- and Anheuser-Busch InBev, the official FIFA sponsor for the World Cup, "did not immediately respond to requests for comment." Dmitry, a barman at "trendy courtyard bar Gogol," said that visiting football fans had drunk 800 liters of beer in three days, "downing the cheap lager before the more expensive bottled beers" (REUTERS, 6/19).
BAD TIMING: In London, Daneshkhu & Pfeifer reported beer and fizzy drinks "are in danger of falling flat after fears of a shortage of carbon dioxide production" in Europe surfaced over the weekend. Concerns about CO2 "are usually more about there being too much of the gas." But a shortage among some of the biggest suppliers in northwestern Europe has emerged, "potentially endangering a much-needed boost to beer sales" during the World Cup. British Beer & Pub Association CEO Brigid Simmonds said on Tuesday that "given the time of year and the World Cup, this situation has arisen at an unfortunate time for the brewing industry" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/19).
