About Gipsy Hill Brewing Company
Gipsy Hill is a small brewery based near Crystal Palace, London. Established by three friends in 2014, the company is growing rapidly, supplying specialist bottle shops, bars and restaurants as well as selling directly to consumers via their website and web partners.
Gipsy Hill’s portfolio has grown from one to five beers and there are plans to develop the product range further still in 2016. The team are focused on creating beers with ‘simply, well balanced flavour’ under 5% ABV for everyday enjoyment.
Energy Consumption Issues
Most of the energy used in the brewing process relates to heating and cooling. For each brew it is necessary to heat 3,000 litres of water which is then mixed with malt while heat is maintained. The liquid is then extracted and the heat turned up to bring the liquid to boiling point, where is stays for 1 – 1.5 hours. From there, the beer is transferred to an electric chiller for cooling, then stored at a constant temperature until despatch.
Reducing the cost of energy
As Gipsy Hill is a small young company, the procurement of energy contracts was initially low on their list of priorities. However, like all small businesses, growing businesses, cost management is essential and the team realised they needed help to reduce their energy expenditure.
IEC visited the premises to learn more about the challenges being faced by Gipsy Hill and then sought cheaper energy contracts through a tender process. In the first three years Gipsy Hill will realise savings in the region of 43%.
Additional Savings
In getting a better understanding of energy use at Gipsy Hill Brewery, it was quickly identified that the company was paying excessive waste water charges.
Companies are charged by the water supplier for the amount of water they discharge – most water suppliers assume, unless told otherwise that most of the water going into the business will leave as waste.
However, as a brewery, more than 20% of water was being used in the end product. This meant the waste water disposal charges were too high and needed to be adjusted.
IEC negotiated with suppliers on behalf of Gipsy Hill to enable them to realise an ongoing reduction in their water bills.
Working Together
IEC is now supporting Gipsy Hill in managing their energy procurement and validating energy invoices on a monthly basis in order to challenge inaccuracies and inconsistencies. IEC have identified a number of other ways in which Gipsy Hill can reduce the cost of energy through the implementation of efficiency measures.
What the client says:
I realised we weren’t in control of our energy costs but in setting up a new business it was way down my priority list. I didn’t know where to begin or how to tackle the tendering process so I called Mike and liked his approach to small businesses like ours. Working with Mike has been great, the process is efficient and hassle free for me. He has saved us money and I can rest assured that I am not overpaying for gas, electricity and water wastage too. I also like the fact that I can tell all the power companies that frequently call me to go away as I have an energy consultant who deals with everything!
Sam McMeekin
Gipsy Hill Brewing Company
