A timeline: how BrewDog became what it is today

From its conception with two employees and a dog in 2007 to its global success of today, The Morning Advertiser sets out the history of BrewDog – warts and all.

BrewDog in numbers:

  • 2,600: number of employees
  • 71: number of UK pubs
  • 10: number of sites in the USA
  • 3: number of hotels
  • 2007: BrewDog begins

Founders James Watt and Martin Dickie start making their own craft beers in Fraserburgh, Scotland, brewing tiny batches, filling bottles by hand, selling their first beers at local markets out of a van.

Health campaigners in Scotland slammed the release of BrewDog’s 12% ABV stout.

However, the Scottish brewer claimed the beer was for connoisseurs and to be savoured, not drunk irresponsibly.

BrewDog acquired its first pub – the Marischal in Aberdeen.

The microbrewer bought the freehold of the pub, which only served BrewDog beers for an undisclosed fee. The site had been closed for two years prior to BrewDog.

BrewDog revealed plans to launch a pub chain by the end of 2010.

Owners James Watt and Martin Dickie wanted to build on the growth of the business and continue to ‘tackle’ a culture of mass-produced cheap drinks.

An eight-month battle against the industry watchdog the Portman Group left BrewDog baying for the organisation's blood and called for it to be scrapped.

Three of the brewer’s beer brands came under fire following an audit of drinks packaging by the Portman’s Independent Complaints Panel.

However, after a lengthy discussion lasting most of 2008, the drinks were cleared.

BrewDog announced a 250% growth in sales for the first quarter of 2010.

The brewer was producing more than 400,000 bottles of its Beer for Punks each month across 17 different countries.

BrewDog claimed it had created the most alcoholic and expensive beer is the world.

End of History was 55% ABV and cost £500 for a 330ml bottle.

Just 12 bottles were brewed and encased in seven dead stoats, four squirrels and a hare, which were created by a taxidermist, according to the Scottish brewer.

Expansion plans for 2012 including the possibility of a site abroad were unveiled by BrewDog.

The Scottish brewer and pub operator revealed it was looking to open 10 pubs in 2012 with Europe as the main focus, but there had been talks about Tokyo too.

Original plans were to open five bars throughout the year, but due to the company’s success, this increases to 10.

After securing £551,000 in funding from the Scottish Government, BrewDog told The Morning Advertiser it would move into soft drinks.

The Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation scheme provided the funding to expand brewery operations and develop a range of 'malt-based soft drinks'.

BrewDog reported a fifth consecutive year of record growth and said it was on track to turnover £20m, up from £12m in 2012.

It also planned to create more than 50 new jobs in the following six months, including key management positions.

The pub operator and brewer opened its first craft beer bottle shop near King’s Cross, London.

BottleDog stocked more than 250 different bottled beers, including its own range and craft beers from other UK and international breweries.

Co-founder James Watt claimed the shop would have the “most extensive craft beer selection you could get your hands on in London” with beers from across the world.

BrewDog broke the world record for the most amount of money made through crowdfunding, raising £10m through its Equity for Punks campaign.

This was the Scottish brewer's fourth wave of fundraising, and investors were also given the chance to buy bonds as well as equity.

Coffee roasters Dear Green and BrewDog joined forces to offer a bespoke coffee from the brewer’s UK bars with takeaway and packs of pre-ground beans also available.

The group stated brewers felt “a natural synergy” with coffee as the roasting process was similar to beer production.

The launch of a new distillery meant BrewDog made its mark in the spirits market.The move followed the brewer's first dabbling in the spirits sector in 2013 where it launched a 35% ABV distilled beer named WattDickie.

BrewDog founders Martin Dickie and James Watt were awarded MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Watt hailed the accolade as “amazing to have been awarded something so prestigious”.

Five years after BrewDog failed to attend the Great British Beer Festival, the brewer announced the launch of a new, 'live' key-keg version of its popular Dead Pony Club ale.

The beer was compatible with the Campaign for Real Ale’s guidelines on what constitutes a real ale, thanks to its key-keg process and a final fermentation in the keg.

The Scottish brewer announced it would open its first US pub and headquarters Stateside.

DogTap opened its doors on 20 February and included a 10,000sq ft taproom alongside a restaurant.

A decade of the business saw a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the ‘world’s first’ craft beer hotel was launched by BrewDog.

DogHouse will be attached to the brewer’s new US sour beer facility in Columbus, Ohio.

CEO and co-founder James Watt lauded the design of the new site “the new happiest place on earth”.

The Scottish craft brewery took full ownership of the entire Draft House estate of 14 bars across London and the south-eats.

All 213 of Draft House employees joined BrewDog while then managing director of BrewDog bars David McDowall became managing director of Draft House, taking the reins from founder Charlie McVeigh.

BrewDog made an undisclosed investment in the Bermondsey-based producer, co-founder James Watt revealed.

Industry watchdog the Portman Group revealed a complaint about BrewDog's limited edition Pink IPA had been upheld by the Independent Complaints Panel.

Pink IPA was launched to tie in with International Women's Day, with the aim of highlighting gender pay inequality and supporting women seeking a career – particularly in science, technology, education and maths.

However, the beer received a mixed reaction online, which was followed by two members of the public lodging complaints as they believed the phrase 'Beer for Girls' could appeal to under 18s.

At the time, a spokesperson responded to the decision to uphold the complaint said: "As a one-off campaign aimed squarely at satirising gender stereotypes on International Women's Day, we're comfortable it was no more aimed at undersage drinkers than it was genuinely targeted at women. We're as bothered about this Portman Group ruling as we are any other – that is, not at all."

The business outlined in its 'Blueprint' manifesto, which set out its 12 month strategic plan, the brewer stopped producing cask in a bid to try to get people excited about craft beer in kegs.

It said it also stopped because it was concerned about how often cask beer was incorrectly stored and served by licensees, which “adversely affected beer quality and, furthermore, we felt the beers we were brewing at the time suited keg dispense better”.

However, with craft beer in kegs now accepted and with the operator’s Draft House being the best place for BrewDog to control quality, the brewer said it would start putting some classic BrewDog beers back into cask.

In the same month (October), the company also announce it was launching BrewDog Airlines.

The Scottish craft brewer and pub operator was ranked among the world's 25 most valuable beer brands by Brand Finance for the first time.

It was the highest new entrant, ranking 19th position overall and was also the UK's sole representative on the list.

As the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK shores, James Watt and Martin Dickie announced they were sacrificing their salary for the year in a bid to protect jobs at the business.

Following then Government adviser Dominic Cummings driving 260 miles to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight before driving back to London amid lockdown, BrewDog unveiled a new beer.

James Watt originally asked followers what the brew should be called before settling on the moniker. 

The enforced coronavirus lockdown meant the Scottish brewer and operator lost 70% of its revenue overnight, causing James Watt serious concerns over whether the firm would be able to trade once restrictions were lifted, he told The Morning Advertiser.

Later in the month, BrewDog posted £8.1m losses due to the pandemic, which was followed by the news it had secured a £25m financial spur through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme in a bid to endure the crisis.

James Watt apologised to staff after an open letter claimed employees across different departments shared a "residual feeling of fear".

The open letter, which was posted on social media by Punks with Purpose and signed by more than 60 ex-team members, made claims employees were "left burnt out, afraid and miserable" and said the biggest experience shared by former staff was a "residual feeling of fear".

It went on to say being treated like a human being was not always a given for employees of the Scottish operator and brewer before addressing Watt personally, saying "it is with you the responsibility for this rotten culture lies".

Watt originally responded to the letter, apologising and stating the company wouldn't make excuses but take action.

He then posted a lengthy statement on LinkedIn, titled 'The Road Ahead for BrewDog', outlining how the company was planning on making the changes.

James Watt faced mounting pressure after being accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women and abuse of power in the workplace.

More than 15 former staff members spoke out against him with some claiming he made female bartenders feel "uncomfortable".

Some were advised by colleagues on how to avoid unwelcome attention from the BrewDog co-founder, according to an investigation by BBC Scotland's Disclosure programme.

Watt said allegations were false and denied behaving inappropriately.

In a post on LinkedIn, he then said he spent time reflecting on the programme and said: "We knew full well the documentary was never going to be anything other than the 'malicious hatchet job' our legal counsel described it as" and said he was set to launch an official complaint with the BBC and regular Ofcom for "dozens of inaccuracies and false claims".

James Watt said a criminal prosecution was under way for fraud and malicious communication over an alleged campaign of online harassment directed against him.

In a post on social media in response to an article in the Guardian​​​ that reported he hired private investigators to gather evidence of alleged smear campaign, Watt said he had been subject to a two year-long “coordinated criminal campaign of online harassment, defamation, blackmail, significant fraud, and malicious communications” with people on a plot to bring him down.

He said he subsequently engaged the services of digital investigative specialists to “seek to identify the source of these damaging and false allegations and identify the individuals who defrauded me”.

Watt shared on social media that the business was scheduled to open 27 new sites over the course of 2022 including venues in locations such as Basingstoke, Canterbury, Durham, Chester, Bristol Harbourside, Ipswich, Lincoln and Waterloo. 

It also had a number of international openings lined up including Las Vegas, Milan, Atlanta, Brisbane and Dublin.

Watt warned the cash crisis "had the potential to destroy more businesses than the pandemic". At the time, the official figures of inflation were just under 10% but Watt said in reality the figure was much higher and called for the Government to start taking action.

Also in August, Watt revealed the company closed six of its bars due to rocketing energy costs and blasted the Government as "clueless".

This came as the business celebrated opening its biggest ever bar – BrewDog Waterloo, a 27,500sq ft featuring co-working spaces and pods, a microbrewery, a GRIND café, duckpin bowling alleys, podcast studio, meeting rooms and more.

Stonegate Group chief executive officer Simon Longbottom stepped down from the role at the country's biggest pub company and was replaced by BrewDog's David McDowall, it was revealed in November.

McDowall was president and chief operating officer at BrewDog and had been at the business since 2015, when he was then appointed managing director of its bars, before he succeeded Longbottom at Stonegate.

BrewDog revealed plans to almost triple the number of sites by 2030 and predicted its bars would increase revenue past the £1bn within five years.

Furthermore, the business identified India as a key growth market and stated it had taken steps to brew locally while also planning to open five new sites in the country by the end of 2023. Over the following five years, BrewDog anticipated it would be opening 25 new bars across the country.

James Arrow was appointed BrewDog's new chief operating officer, replacing David McDowall.

Arrow joined the Scottish brewer and pub operator from Boots Opticians where he was managing director and prior to that, spent more than a decade at Dixons Carphone Warehouse in a variety of senior roles.

Ofcom rejected BrewDog's complaint against the BBC documentary The Truth About BrewDog. 

Despite craft beer and the hospitality sector have a "very challenged" start to this year, BrewDog's performance was "phenomenal", according to James Watt, who shared his thoughts on how the group had fared on LinkedIn.

He also outlined new openings for the brand in Denver, US as well as Columbus airport and Bangkok.

James Watt stepped down as chief executive of BrewDog after 17 years at the helm of the business. 

He will be succeeded by COO James Arrow, as part of a succession plan, which was put in place last year.

Watt will remain on the BrewDog plc board in the role of 'captain and co-founder' and will remain a major shareholder.

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