Is There Really A White Claw Hard Seltzer Shortage In The US?

OMG, how could this be happening? How could White Claw, the it beverage of summer 2019, be in short supply? This is, like, the worst thing to happen since Popeyes ran out of chicken sandwiches! What's going to happen now? Commando raids on liquor stores, swooping in to grab the last six-packs stashed at the back of the walk-in cooler? 

As it turns out, the great White Claw Hard Seltzer shortage might be more over-hyped than the beverage itself. While Complex shrieked, "White Claw Hard Seltzer Shortage Ravages Nation" and the New York Post and Fox News both announced that this dreadful calamity had millennials freaked out and panicking, The Chicago Tribune coolly dissected this disaster, reporting that things aren't as dire as they seem.

Unlike the Popeyes promotion, where there was apparently only a limited supply of these chicken sandwiches to begin with, White Claw is still producing and shipping out the mega-popular beverage as fast as its production lines can manage. While it's true that White Claw's popularity far exceeded company projections to the point where it's had to be put "on allocation," meaning that only a set amount is available to each distributor at one time rather than the limitless supply they can access from major brands like Budweiser and Miller-Coors, White Claw is, and continues to be, still available, even if certain types like everyone's favorite variety 12-pack tend to sell out quickly.

While White Claw may not have started out the summer anticipating its phenomenal sales, they're now trying as hard as they can to prevent a pending millennial meltdown. According to a CNN interview with Sanjiv Gajiwala, White Claw's senior vice president of marketing, "We are working around the clock to increase supply given the rapid growth in consumer demand." So, grateful nation, you may breathe a sigh of relief. No need to stock up on White Claw like a hard-partying doomsday prepper. This shortage will pass.

In the meantime, if the shelves are bare at your favorite booze emporium, just go check another one. Or order it online. Or, you know, you could always try another (possibly better-tasting) brand of hard seltzer. Really, there are no laws saying you have to stick to Claws.