Meanwhile, Carlton & United is struggling to get sufficient shipments of Corona, which it imports from Mexico. “In the lead-up to Christmas we are distributing it fairly to retailers across Australia to help limit shortages,” a spokesperson said.

Read more about the global supply chain snarls

The dire developments are the latest in a litany of similar tales involving delays, shortages and soaring prices around the world, driven by massive demand and supply imbalances as economies reopen. Major shipping lines have been weighed down by extraordinary bottlenecks for months on end, with lengthy disruptions upending business schedules and causing havoc in markets.

Not all is lost. With the majority of Australia’s beer supplies manufactured on-shore — and therefore less impacted by chokeholds in international supply chains — drowning one’s sorrows after the year that was 2021 still looks entirely possible.