Russia and the UK are Running out of Beer because of the World Cup

A World Cup-fueled boon for beer sales is not faring well for thirsty drinkers in Russia and the U.K.

First, celebrations of Sweden's victory over South Korea sucked Nizhny Novgorod, Russia dry. Now, Moscow bars and restuarants are running low on beer supply, too.

"We just didn't think they would only want beer," a waiter in central Moscow told ESPN. "There are really a lot of people in Moscow…and they are all drinking," he said. "It's hot, and it's football."

In the U.K., another problem hangs in the air: CO2 is running low, meaning beer isn't getting its bubbles, nor its gas boost to leave draft lines. Beer producers are starting to stall production, the BBC reports.

Brigid Simmonds, head of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), is attempting to rectify the situation by pushing CO2 producers to get back online. (CO2 producers often ramp up production in the winter, and slow in the summer.)

"You could have foreseen this. We've got the World Cup, which is as exciting in Germany as it is here," Simmonds told the BBC. "Quite why they didn't anticipate this, I don't know."

Turns out, all we had to do to get the world drinking more beer was televise a global sporting event. Speaking of which, we know we encouraged your World Cup beer drinking with our World Cup drinking game. If you're in Russia or the U.K., it may be time to switch to canned cocktails.