Making a full recovery on planet-friendly beer
Stroud Brewery was started in 2006 by self-confessed adventurer, environmentalist and beer lover, Greg Pilley, in a small rented unit on the edge of Stroud. Determined to lead the way in organic beer-making, and registered with the Soil Association since 2008, the brewery now produces a wide range of organic beers which are sold across the UK and are seeing increasing interest from overseas.
The company works hard to lower its carbon and water footprint, is committed to ethical sourcing, and supports regenerative farming practices that nurture the soil. Continuing their mission to make beer without damaging the planet, in 2018 Pilley and his team embarked on construction of a new site designed with the environment in mind – including collecting rainwater to flush the loos. Having learned of the potential for Target 2030 funding, Pilley contacted Severn Wye to explore innovative ways to recover and reuse the heat generated from their brewing and cooling equipment. Severn Wye arranged an open tender for installers to bid for this bespoke system, which was intended to heat the adjacent bar area. Supplemented with a Target 2030 grant of just under £27,500, the brewery invested £51,000 in the heat recovery system and higher-specification chillers, together with underfloor heating and LED lighting.
Once work was underway, however, things didn’t quite progress as planned. ‘As we moved into the building we realised we didn’t need so much heat for the bar area,’ says Pilley. ‘The building is well insulated and when customers pile in they bring their own warmth.’ Instead they decided to divert the recovered heat to the cask washer. ‘We only need heating for a couple of months in the winter,’ Pilley explains, ‘but we always need hot water.’
Although it’s taken longer than anticipated to get the heat recovery system connected, the team is looking forward to seeing the brewery’s second year of carbon footprint data which they’ll use as baseline to determine the future efficiency gains in their beer production. Electricity and gas use is plotted against each litre of beer they produce, and as most of their electricity is used for cask washing they’re expecting the heat recovery system to yield significant savings.
In collaboration with their landlord the brewery has since installed solar PV and Pilley and team are looking forward to enjoying the benefits of their bespoke heat-recovery system, and introducing ever more customers to the benefits of organic beers in what has become a cherished local landmark.
