Boston ran out of beer during the World Cup celebrations, but could automation be the solution to product shortages.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in full swing, and the City of Boston is hosting some rowdy celebrations.
The parties are so raucous, some bars and liquor stores have run dry.
The Sam Adams Boston Taproom ran out of Boston Lager when soccer fans gulped down four times the amount the bar typically sells during a four-day holiday rush. And Hennessy’s Bar tripled its St. Patrick’s Day sales, completely running out of beer by Sunday night. Federal Wine & Spirits reported that their beer coolers temporarily broke after beer-thirsty revelers kept opening them, eager to snatch up every last Budweiser and Corona. The liquor store completely sold out of both beers.
There’s no doubt World Cup fans are celebrating heartily, and that means increased demand. There’s also no doubt that manufacturers –– including breweries –– are grappling with a skilled labor shortage.
It begs the question: Is automation the solution for increased demand when plants can’t fill certain roles?
Is automation a problem or a solution?
Automation is simultaneously viewed as the solution and the problem when it comes to manufacturing. But automation is increasingly being used not to replace workers but to help manufacturers do more with the staff they’ve got.
Andrew Hastert, MBA, chief digital officer with Rockwell Automation, Global Solutions Engineering, noted in a recent Plant Engineering article that manufacturers across segments are confronting a convergence of skilled labor shortages, rising system complexity and growing expectations for resilience and productivity.
“As a result, AI is increasingly being applied not to replace people, but to help manufacturers do more with the existing workforce, including capturing expertise, supporting faster decision-making and stabilizing operations in the face of constant change,” Hastert wrote.
“In this sense, AI has become a practical response to workforce constraints, not a speculative technology bet.”
What is automation brewing up?
Manufacturers are under pressure to produce. And perhaps it’s impossible to predict a run on a specific product during a specific time –– such as beer during the World Cup. But are there ways producers can quickly ramp up production when demand does increase?
Automation is being used in a variety of commercial brewing operations on both the hardware and software side. Control systems handle a number of processes. Hydrostatic pressure sensors and automatic water-blending are just two processes that can be automated.
Automated cooling loops, data loggers and pH sensors are also used to track and adjust fermentation profiles. And automated pneumatic valves sterilize tanks, an otherwise risky task for a human worker.
SCADA solutions in the wild
Some breweries are also investigating the usefulness of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, which are the backbone of automation in manufacturing.
Last year, our sister publication, Control Engineering, featured Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.‘s partnership with Inductive Automation‘s Ignition SCADA solution.
“Fermentation is a 24/7 process, so our plant controls staff were in no mood to introduce Windows-style downtime to their lives,” David Lewis, Sierra Nevada’s business analyst, told Control Engineering.
“The Inductive Automation software was so inexpensive, however, that we decided to try it for data acquisition and production reporting –– two areas where there were no good alternatives on the market.”
Automation on the line
Let me know. Do you think automation is the solution to increased demand and a persistent skilled labor shortage?
And what are the most impactful tools for industrial automation?
