Breweries are being forced to get creative and spend big money to survive a crippling nationwide shortage of liquid carbon dioxide.

Since the end of refining at Marsden Point last year, the Kapuni carbon dioxide plant has been supplying the gas.

However, it's shut indefinitely for maintenance.

Co-Founder of small Wellington brewery Garage Project, Jos Ruffell told Tim Dower beer production relies on CO2 for cleaning, sterilising, and packaging beer, and to operate the taps the drink is poured from.

He says the company has made significant investment in capture recovery technology, so they can re-use any gas naturally produced during the fermentation process.

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