AUSTRALIANS FACE BEER SHORTAGE
Australian beer drinkers are threatened with a beer shortage as the thirsty summer season begins. Coopers Brewery in Adelaide, the third largest brewer, had to temporarily suspend brewing week after a gas plant fire on New Year's Day threatened energy supplies to two states. While limited brewing has resumed, publicans said they were concerned they may not be able to keep up with drinkers' demands. "I'm quite worried, to be quite frank," Rising Sun publican and owner John Osborne told ABC radio. Coopers, one of Australia's oldest producers, could face brewing restrictions until March. The brewery
entered 2004 with low stocks because December sales were up 18%.