Bitcoin meets brewing: How Hawkesbury Brewing Co is rethinking energy
Hawkesbury Brewing Co. has recently discovered an innovative way to turn excess energy into a valuable production resource – heat.
“The computers produce a lot of heat. Rather than letting that go to waste, we capture it and use it to heat the water we need every day for brewing and cleaning.”
The brewery on the New South Wales Central Coast has developed a renewable energy system run by a combination of solar energy and Bitcoin mining computers.
Adam Neale, Operations Manager for Hawkesbury Brewery Co explained that like many other breweries, the biggest challenge the team was facing was not necessarily generating renewable energy, it was making better use of it.
“We’d invested heavily in solar, but during the day we were often producing more electricity than we could use. Exporting that excess power back to the grid delivered very little return, while we still needed large amounts of hot water for brewing and cleaning. We wanted to find a better way to capture the value of the energy we were already generating.
“People often think this is a Bitcoin story, but it’s really an energy story. Every brewery needs heat – we’ve simply found a smarter way to produce it,” Neale told Beer & Brewer.
While looking for a smarter way to use the excess solar power, the team came across the Bitcoin mining process and introduced a system that utilises its waste product.
“We weren’t looking to become Bitcoin miners,” said Neale.
“The computers produce a lot of heat. Rather than letting that go to waste, we capture it and use it to heat the water we need every day for brewing and cleaning.”
Sixteen Bitcoin mining computers are used in the brewery. They sit in a tub filled with a non-conductive liquid.
Simultaneously the liquid cools the computers and heats up to almost 90 degrees Celsius, that heat is then repurposed for the brewing process.
Importantly, Neale says when implementing the process, the brewery’s priority continued to be ensuring brewing operations came first.
“The Bitcoin is an added bonus, but the real benefit is making better use of our renewable energy while reducing our operating costs.”
According to Hawkesbury Brewing Co, the mining computers earn the brewery close to $2,000 a month – almost covering its power bills.
The system also only runs when the brewery has too much solar energy, meaning that it costs nothing to operate, is completely renewable energy and leaves no carbon footprint.
“It’s completely separate from our brewing controls. From a brewery perspective, the focus was always about integrating the heat recovery safely and reliably without affecting water quality, food safety or production consistency,” said Neale.
Taking a different approach
Neale praised the effectiveness of the mining system, noting the improvement the switch has made to the brewery’s overall operations.
“It’s helped us get much more value from the renewable energy we’re already producing. Instead of exporting excess solar for a small return, we’re using it to generate the hot water we need every day. That improves our energy efficiency, reduces operating costs and makes better use of the resources already available on site.
“It’s proven that waste heat can become a valuable manufacturing resource,” he added.
His advice to other breweries looking for inspiration when it comes to renewable brewing practices is to simply start with the problem, not the technology.
“For us, the challenge was making better use of excess renewable energy. Every brewery has a different energy profile, so the right solution will be different for everyone. There are plenty of opportunities to recover and reuse energy if you’re prepared to think a little differently.”
