BrewDog

BrewDog is a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Scotland. It was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who together own 46% of the company.[1]

BrewDog plc
Unlisted plc
Industrybrewing 
Founded2007 (2007)
Headquarters
Ellon, Scotland, UK
Production output
220,000 hectolitre capacity
OwnersJames Watt (25%), Martin Dickie (22%), TSG Consumer Partners (22%), other Board members (6%), members of the public (25%)[1]
Websitewww.brewdog.com

Products

BrewDog produce various types of ales and lagers. For the 12 months to 7 September 2019, Punk IPA was the best selling craft beer in the UK.[2]

History
BrewDog's Hardcore IPA

BrewDog was founded in Fraserburgh in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie.[3]

In 2009, BrewDog purchased their first bar, in nearby Aberdeen.[4] At the end of 2018, the company, and its franchisees, operated 78 bars worldwide.[5]

In 2011, BrewDog was described as "one of the prime movers"[6] behind the campaign which changed the law in 2011 to allow new beer measures in Britain.[7]

2011 also saw the company offered crowdfunding shares totalling £2 million, the equivalent of 8% of the capital of the company. The shares were sold at £23.75 and accompanied several benefits such as discounts in their bars and online purchase of their beers, and the opportunity to attend their annual shareholders meeting.[8]

The main brewing moved from Fraserburgh to nearby Ellon in 2012. In 2014, the company ended operations in Fraserburgh.[9]

In March 2015, BrewDog was awarded £1.5m in Regional Selective Assistance.[10] That same month, the company announced plans to increase its workforce by 130 employees.[10]

In February 2016, BrewDog open-sourced its beer recipes to the public, making them a form of Free Beer.[11][12]

Private equity firm, TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 22% stake in the company for approximately £213 million in April 2017.[13]

In February 2018, BrewDog announced that it plans to build a $30 million production brewery and tap room on an 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft) greenfield site in the Metroplex complex at Murarrie, in Brisbane, Australia.[14] In November 2019, the company announced that it would be expanding its footprint in the United States with a new distillery.[15]

In December 2019 BrewDog opened its first bar in Ireland, at the Capital Dock development in the upmarket Grand Canal Dock area of Dublin.[16]

BrewDog bar in Camden

In January 2020, BrewDog opened its first alcohol-free bar in London.[17]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it shifted its distillery production towards making free hand sanitizer for local hospitals and charities.[18]

Controversies

BrewDog's provocative marketing has been a key aspect of its business, and has gained them substantial international coverage.[19]

In 2008, BrewDog was challenged by UK drinks industry watchdog, the Portman Group.[20] BrewDog denied these allegations and countered that Portman was impeding the development of smaller brewing companies.[21] In December 2008, after an 8-month long dispute and a preliminary adjudication, which had ruled against the company, BrewDog were cleared of all breaches of the Code of Practice and were permitted to continue marketing their brands without making any changes to the packaging.[22] In protest to their targeting, BrewDog introduced "Speedball", saying "...we thought we would give them something worth banning us for...". Speedball was promptly banned by Portman[23] before being renamed as "Dogma".[24] BrewDog has produced progressively stronger beers and has laid claim to the title 'strongest beer ever brewed' on more than one occasion.

Squirrel container of BrewDog's The End of History beer (55% ABV)

In 2009, its "Tokyo*" brew caused controversy when UK watchdog the Portman Group criticised the availability of a beer of that strength in 330 ml bottles with traditional crown caps. Also in 2009, BrewDog launched a beer called "Tactical Nuclear Penguin", with 32% alcohol, which was claimed to be the strongest beer ever made.[25]

In 2010, BrewDog announced "Sink The Bismarck", an apparent 41% ABV[26][27] to reclaim the World's Strongest Beer title from Schorschbräu, who had produced a 40% ABV version of their Schorschbock.[28] Also in 2010, BrewDog produced a 55% ABV freeze-distilled beer called "The End of History", with the bottles packaged in small stuffed animals, priced at £500 and £700 each.[29][30][31] Only 12 bottles were produced; 11 for retail sale, with the other one going to Internet video blog BeerTapTV.[32][33] BrewDog claimed that this set new records not only for alcoholic strength in a beer, but also for price. Advocates for Animals called the gimmick 'perverse'.[29]

The title "strongest beer of the world" then fell back to Mr Tscheuschner from the Schorschbräu brewery in Germany, whose Schorschbock 57 boasts an ABV of 57.5%.[34] The title for world's strongest beer has since changed again though, allegedly to Brewmeister's "Snake Venom" at a reputed 67.5%, although independent testing has yet to be published to confirm the ABV.[35]

In 2014 Portman claimed BrewDog to be in breach of their Code of Practice “for encouraging both anti-social behaviour and rapid drinking” through the labelling of the Dead Pony Club IPA, which they claimed placed “undue emphasis on the strength and intoxicating effect of the alcohol in the product.”[36]

In March 2017, BrewDog threatened legal action against an independent pub based in Birmingham, England called "Lone Wolf", a trademark owned by BrewDog.[37] A day later, after the story was reported in The Guardian, BrewDog director James Watt confirmed via Twitter that the company had no issue allowing the bar to use the name "Lone Wolf", despite it having already rebranded as "The Wolf".[38] However, Brewdog released a statement at a later date saying "Hands up, we made a mistake in how we acted", blaming 'trigger happy lawyers' as the source of blame. The next day, further controversy arose over an alleged previous threat of legal action from BrewDog against a bar calling itself "Draft Punk".[39] BrewDog's Watt later released a blog statement citing the allegation as inaccurate, calling it an example of "opportunistic lies combined with inaccurate journalism", noting that BrewDog does also own the 'Punk' trademark for beer.[40]

In May 2019, BrewDog was accused of stealing marketing concepts from a public relations firm named Manifest London, and from job applicants using fake interviews and other deceptive practices.[41]

TV series

James Watt and Martin Dickie also had a show in 2013 on American television network Esquire Network that lasted three seasons.[42] After the channel ceased operations, BrewDog decided to launch BrewDog Network, which features a selection of original content.[43]

Awards

BrewDog won the 2008 Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.[44]

Paradox Grain won a Gold Medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup in the Wood and Barrel-aged Strong Beer Category.[45]

BrewDog won the Tenon Entrepreneur of the Year Award for demonstrating exceptional vision and leadership at the 2008 National Business Awards for Scotland.[46]

The Physics won World's Best Strong Pale Ale (Sub Category Winner) and Rip Tide won World's Best Imperial Stout (Style Trophy Winner) at the 2007 World Beer Awards, an annual competition organised by Beers of the World magazine.[47]

Hardcore IPA won Gold at the 2010 World Beer Cup in the Imperial IPA category.[48]

In 2012, BrewDog revealed that Diageo had threatened to withdraw funding from BII Scotland's annual awards if BrewDog was named winner of the Best Bar Operator award.[49] Diageo later apologised to BrewDog for what they called a "serious misjudgement by Diageo staff".[50][51]

In 2018, it achieved a 2-star accreditation from Best Companies. In 2019, it achieved the lower 1-star accreditation, with a BCI score of 666.2.[52]

gollark: Hmm. That actually sounds reasonable.
gollark: No, I mean what training data?
gollark: What are you training it on?
gollark: Per architecture.
gollark: Nope, pretty sure that's fixed.

See also

References
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