BrewDog’s description of its trademark Punk IPA as ‘reliably chaotic’ could also be used for the company itself over the last 18 years.
In the latest turbulence, the Scottish craft beer maker’s tipples have reportedly been taken off the taps at around 1,860 pubs across the UK.
The news comes after it announced the closure of 10 of its bars last month — including its flagship site in Aberdeen — citing ‘ongoing industry challenges’ such as rising costs.
After the pub industry data for the last two years was disclosed by The Telegraph, BrewDog responded by saying ‘every independent brewer has been affected’ by economic pressures and that the ‘exciting’ business is benefiting from a shift to events.
Chief operating officer Lauren Carroll said: ‘We saw the trend coming, which is why we’ve shifted focus to high-impact channels like festivals, stadiums, and the independent free trade.
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‘We’re seeing strong growth there, with recent collaborations at Lord’s Cricket Ground and the London Stadium showing our ambition to be the world’s most exciting beer business.’
The brewery is no stranger to stormy weather.
Founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, it once described itself as a ‘post-punk, apocalyptic, motherf***** of a craft brewery’.
Here are some previous controversies:
Rebellious marketing
In 2016, the brewer raised more than £19 million with a crowd-funding project by sending fans who invested more than $20,000 (£16,000) a bespoke bottle of its The End of History beer wrapped inside taxidermy stoats and squirrels.
BrewDog said at the time: ‘It is without doubt one of the most talked-about things we have ever done, probably due to the road kill taxidermy as much as the strength of the beer.’
In 2011, the company drove a tank down Camden High Street to mark the company’s move into England.
Marking the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton later in the year, the brewery produced Royal Virility Performance, which contained herbal Viagra and Horny Goat Weed.
Who’s in charge of BrewDog?
BrewDog was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie.
It took off in the 2010s as pub goers craved independent beers and IPAs.The brand gained a reputation for its bold marketing stunts, such as driving a tank through London and a creative approach to craft beer.
Watt stepped down as BrewDog’s CEO in May 2024 after 17 years, handing over to chief operating officer James Arrow.
Arrow then stepped down from the role in March this year due to ‘personal reasons’, and James Taylor took over.
Watt is still ‘captain and co-founder’ at BrewDog, according to his LinkedIn profile.
One stunt which left a bitter taste for some was BrewDog’s claims that 10 solid gold cans had been randomly hidden in cases of beer sold from its online store, and were worth £15,000 each.
Some winners found that the tins were gold-plated brass worth just £500 after being independently valued.
The advertising watchdog found that the claims had been misleading — leading to co-founder James Watt paying the 28 winners from his own pocket for ‘my mistake’.
Culture war clashes
Watt has waded into the political sphere, describing Brexit as an ‘unmitigated disaster’ and saying rail strikes in 2023 had a ‘big negative impact’ on trade.
Earlier this year, he launched a ‘shadow Doge’ — inspired by Elon Musk’s former department under Donald Trump — to take on the UK government.
On LinkedIn, Watt said that the unofficial venture would be the ‘underground cousin’ of the US entity and would expose waste and inefficiency in Westminster.
‘Toxic culture’
The ‘punk’ brewer has also been hit by negative allegations over the working environment at the company.
In 2021, some 61 ex-members of staff signed a document alleging a ‘culture of fear’ and a further 45 were said to support its aims but did not want to include their names for fear of reprisals.
The letter alleged the company was ‘built on a cult of personality’ and used ‘lies, hypocrisy and deceit’ as tools, including exaggerating claims made as part of its infamous PR campaigns.
They said staff had been left with mental health issues, and bosses did little to address the problems within the business. Watt was singled out for criticism by his former employees, who accused him of being the driver of the ‘toxic’ attitudes among senior members of staff.
The co-founder apologised and promised to take action in light of the revelations.
In a statement at the time, he described the open letter as ‘upsetting, but so important.’
He said he wasn’t going to ‘contradict or contest’ the claims but that his focus was to ‘listen, learn and act.’
Ditching real living wage
In 2024, BrewDog dropped out of the real living wage scheme.
The company had met the criteria since 2015, with the ‘outrageous’ move coming ‘during the most acute cost of living crisis in a generation’, according to the Unite union.
BrewDog told workers at the time that the ‘hard decision’ to leave the voluntary scheme was about getting the business ‘back to profitability and the financial stability that is needed.’
The company said that despite ‘unprecedented challenges in the hospitality sector’, staff outside London would get a 4.95% rise in base pay and crew in London would be paid 4.5% above the national living wage.
BrewDog said: ‘We have always been fully committed to doing the best we can for our people, and our benefits package is far more generous than the industry average.’