What’s happening: Natural contamination at the Jackson Dome — a Mississippi reservoir of CO2 from an extinct volcano — is causing a CO2 shortage, our Axios Local colleagues report.

Why it matters: Like all small businesses, breweries have been dealing with ongoing pandemic-related challenges like pricier ingredients and supply-chain issues. A CO2 shortage, our colleagues write, is the newest threat to the beer industry’s rebound from the pandemic.

Zoom in: In June, NoDa Brewing received a notice from its CO2 supplier saying they could only promise to deliver approximately one half of the average CO2 supply NoDa would normally need for the entire summer, co-owner Todd Ford tells me.

The brewer has also been able to reduce CO2 consumption in a few different areas to avoid any reduction of beer production, Ford adds, including by using CO2 produced during the brewing process to offset what they’d normally buy from their vendor.

Legion Brewing, also impacted by the shortage, has invested in equipment that extracts nitrogen from the air, then used in place of CO2, a spokesperson said.

Of note: The shortage and ongoing supply-chain complications have meant NoDa and Legion are paying more for their supplies. But they haven’t trimmed production — nor have they passed those costs down to customers.

“It will reduce our profitability, there is no way around it. We have not raised our prices in an effort to stay competitive in the market but that can only last so long,” Ford says.