BrewDog reports record sales and further expansion

BrewDog, the Scottish brewer, has reported a record rise in sales of its craft beers and plans to open four new bars.

The group also reported that pre-tax profits stood at £300,000 in 2010, a significant increase from the £147 pre-tax profit reported in the previous year.

The company announced that sales of its craft beers had increased by 230% during 2010, with its products were now available in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrison's and Waitrose.

The brewer said that its on-trade sales grew by 260% in the last quarter of 2010 and it predicted that this record would be broken over the coming twelve months.

The company, which opened its first pub in Aberdeen in September, revealed plans to open further pubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester this year. It also said that it hoped to have its new £5m brewery near Aberdeen operational in 2012.

Running scared​

BrewDog co-founder James Watt said that the record sales the company had achieved indicated that the trend for specialist beers was stay and that mainstream breweries were now "running scared".

Watt said: "The craft beer revolution has claimed another scalp in the form of archaic licensing rules.

"This is nothing short of a landmark victory for BrewDog and an acceptance at government level that we speak for the people and understand the changing landscape of the UK beer market.

"The two-thirds of a pint measure means British beer drinkers can enjoy bold and creative beers responsibly - we knew that and we made sure the government caught up."

Act of panic​

He added: "Molson Coors buying Sharp's brewery is an act of panic, not commercial nous. Buying a small brewery does not buy you a craft beer soul.

"All this does is prove they can see the change is coming and recognition that the market is shifting; it won't help them be a part of it. They, along with every other mainstream brewery, are shaking in their boots."