A BREWERY has reassured drinkers that supplies will keep flowing despite worries over a CO2 shortage.

Some Wetherspoon pubs are temporarily without draught John Smith's and Strongbow cider and a science centre has cancelled its summer programme due to the carbon dioxide shortage.

It comes as food and drink companies put plans in place to minimise disruption for consumers.

But Thwaites brewery has reassured its customers that its cask ale supplies will be unaffected by the CO2 issues that are currently hitting the food and drinks industry.

As cask beer does not require any CO2, Thwaites is continuing to maintain its supply to its pubs, inns and hotels.

Director of pubs and brewing, Andrew Buchanan, said: "Our pubs will not run out of beer. Cask ale, which is what we are famous for brewing over the past 211 years, does not require CO2 to produce or dispense.

“We are working with our pubs to make sure they do not run out of CO2 to dispense lager, cider and soft drinks and when some brands become unavailable, we will be substituting them with others.”

A Wetherspoon spokesman said some pubs would be without John Smith's and Strongbow cider but said that supplier Heineken had advised both would be available again in a couple of days.

He said: "Wetherspoon has the advantage that it sources its wide range of drinks from a number of suppliers, so has not been too badly affected.

"Heineken has been the company with the biggest issues and they have told us that all is getting back to normal."

Punch Taverns, which has around 1,300 pubs, said it has had shortfalls of John Smith's and Amstel for almost a week, with Birra Moretti also now in short supply.

A spokesman said: "We are working closely with suppliers to ensure that alternative products are available and we continue to communicate with our publicans to minimise any disruption. We are hoping that product availability will be restored within the next few days."

A Heineken spokeswoman said: "We'd like to reassure beer drinkers that all our breweries are operating at full capacity, and we're working 24/7 to get beers to our customers as quickly as possible."

Ei, the UK's largest pub group which runs the Craft Union and Bermondsey Pub Company chains, said: "We are aware of the issue relating to a shortage in the supply of CO2 and are working with our suppliers to minimise any disruption to our customers and our publicans."