ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Drinking your favorite craft beer or cider could be getting more expensive because of supply chain issues and changes being made to orders at a major manufacturer, which could impact the supply of aluminum cans.
“We are more or less being forced out of purchasing printed cans, which is an added cost to our bread and butter basically,” said Alejandro del Peral, the owner and co-founder of Nine Pin Cider Works in Albany.
Nine Pin, as well as other Ball Corporation customers, telling NEWS10 they have received noticed that the company is changing its minimum order from one to five truckloads.
In all, del Peral says that would equal over one million cans.
“Our top selling cider, our signature cider, we don’t sell a million cans of that a year. Ball Metal recommends that you sell your can within a year of it being manufactured.”
While the local cidery doesn’t have a set plan yet on addressing the changes to their aluminum can supply, their current supply should hold them over into the spring. But the ripple effect of this, as well as rising costs in other areas of the industry, is expected to have an impact on your wallet.
“Their margins are already incredibly slim now, so they’ll have to react to a can shortage, and most likely have to raise prices,” said Paul Leon, the executive director of the New York State Brewers Association.
The state Brewers Association is advising its members to plan their can supply for deep into next year.
“That’s when Ball is expecting to have two new manufacturing facilities up and running, and at that point, it shouldn’t be an issue anymore,” Leon explained.