Brewery and distillery energy broker: brew days spike, fermentation never stops
A brewery runs two loads at once: the brew-day spike, when the kettle, mill and packaging line all fire together, and the glycol chillers holding fermentation temperature every hour of the year underneath it. Add a gas-fired kettle and you have three contracts worth of complexity on one site. We price the whole picture, spike and baseline together.
What a brewery or distillery bill actually looks like.
Before anyone can tell you whether you are overpaying, they have to know how your site actually uses power. These are the numbers we start from on a brewery or distillery, and the ones we check yours against first.
The tariff that usually wins: Time-of-use with brew days planned around the demand window; C&I tender once the site clears 100 MWh
Gas, where the site has it: 300–2,000 GJ/yr for the brewhouse kettle, and stills where spirits are made
Where the bill goes wrong for breweries and distilleries.
glycol chillers and the cold room holding fermentation temperature 24/7, so the site never drops to a quiet baseline
one brew day with the kettle, mill and canning line running together setting the demand charge for the whole month
a gas-fired kettle on one contract and the chillers on another, never quoted together, never expiring together
taproom air conditioning and refrigeration stacking a hospitality peak on top of the production load every weekend
What a switch looks like on a brewery or distillery.
An illustration, not a promise. Your number depends entirely on what you are paying now, which is the whole reason we read the bill first.
Assumptions: SEQ craft brewery, ~180 MWh/yr plus brewhouse gas, moved from a rolled-over SME rate to a tendered contract with brew days scheduled outside the peak demand window
What we look for in a retailer for breweries and distilleries.
No retailer gets a default answer from us. On a brewery or distillery site, these are the things that decide which one actually wins on your numbers.
- A retailer that will actually price the tariff these sites need: Time-of-use with brew days planned around the demand window; C&I tender once the site clears 100 MWh.
- Flexibility across the 60,000 kWh to 500,000 kWh a year range. Breweries and distilleries straddle the SME and C&I line, so we price it both ways and take whichever wins.
- A soft demand rate, not just a sharp c/kWh. At 30–200 kVA the demand charge can move the annual bill more than the energy rate does.
- Whether bundling gas (300–2,000 GJ/yr for the brewhouse kettle, and stills where spirits are made) with the electricity actually beats splitting the two across separate retailers. We price it both ways before recommending either.
- How their pricing copes with glycol chillers and the cold room holding fermentation temperature 24/7, so the site never drops to a quiet baseline.
- How their pricing copes with one brew day with the kettle, mill and canning line running together setting the demand charge for the whole month.
- How their pricing copes with a gas-fired kettle on one contract and the chillers on another, never quoted together, never expiring together.
- How their pricing copes with taproom air conditioning and refrigeration stacking a hospitality peak on top of the production load every weekend.
- Contract length, and what happens at the end of it: the exit fee, the notice window and the evergreen rollover rate you land on if nobody moves.
- If you run more than one site, whether they'll price the whole portfolio or only want the big meters.
We're paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you, and the commission is printed in c/kWh next to every offer. How we choose a retailer.
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Brewery or distillery energy, common questions
Can I bundle gas and electricity on one bill?
Often, yes. Several retailers will price gas and electricity together on one account. Sometimes the bundled discount is real, sometimes splitting them across two retailers wins on price. We test both ways before recommending either.
Am I a C&I or SME customer?
Roughly: above 100 MWh/year electricity, you're commercial-and-industrial (C&I) and quotes come via tender from a different retailer panel. Below 100 MWh, you're SME and quoted off published rates. We figure out which side of the line you're on and quote to the right panel.
What's a demand charge and why is mine so high?
Demand charges are the highest 15- or 30-minute usage peak in the month, multiplied by a $/kVA rate. If you've got AC cycling on at the same time as kitchen equipment, that peak compounds. The fix is usually a tariff that prices demand more fairly, or moving you off demand-tariffs altogether if your usage is too small to need them.
Will my power get cut off when I switch?
No. Switching retailers doesn't touch the wires or your meter. Same poles, same wires, same network operator (Energex for nearly all SEQ). You just get a different name on your invoice, and a better number.
How long does a switch take?
Typical SEQ small-business switch: 10–20 business days from signing the Letter of Authority. We send the LoA, you sign, we lodge with the new retailer, they handle the meter-data hand-off with the network. Your old contract ends, the new one starts.
What's a demand charge and why is mine so high?
Demand charges are the highest 15- or 30-minute usage peak in the month, multiplied by a $/kVA rate. If you've got AC cycling on at the same time as kitchen equipment, that peak compounds. The fix is usually a tariff that prices demand more fairly, or moving you off demand-tariffs altogether if your usage is too small to need them.
Am I on the right small-business tariff?
Probably not. Retailers don't migrate you automatically when better tariffs become available. We look at your usage profile, your peak demand, and your trading hours, then map you to the tariff your bill actually wants.
We're paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you.
When we move your account to a new retailer, that retailer pays us a commission, partly upfront, partly as a trail while you're with them. Your rate is your rate. There's no markup, no broker fee on your invoice, no monthly subscription.
We disclose the commission existence on every quote. If you want to know the exact dollar amount on a deal, ask. We'll tell you.
This is why we win on transparency: we'd rather show you the maths than dress up the savings.
Brewery or distillery owner? Send the bill, we'll quote it
Drop your most recent electricity or gas bill. I'll come back with what your retailer panel can do, in plain English, usually same day.
- Send us one recent bill, or let us get it from your retailer.
- Sign a one page authority so we can ask retailers for prices.
- See every offer that comes back, with our commission on each one.
Takes about ninety seconds. Haven't got the bill handy? We will get it from your current retailer for you.
Ready to see what your panel can do?
Send us your bill, we'll come back with real numbers, not a sales call.