Craft beer giant Brewdog has launched a reset under its American owners Tilray. Felix Armstrong explores whether the company can truly move on from James Watt
Dessert-flavoured beer, provocative ad campaigns, waxy-mustached artisans – much about Brewdog’s long-anticipated reset feels familiar, as if the recently-collapsed craft brewer is really getting back to its roots.
But some of the beer firm’s earliest backers are not onside with its new American owners.
Six months on from its £33m purchase of Brewdog in March, US cannabis and drinks maker Tilray has kicked off its ownership of the beer and pub firm in earnest, with a £50m investment into new beer flavours and a punchy new campaign.
Brewdog was founded by school friends James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, and later surged to dominance of the craft beer market with the help of ‘equity punks’: everyday investors who bought small stakes in the firm in exchange for beer-related perks.
These investors got zero returns from Brewdog’s eventual sale to Tilray, and some have since vented their “contempt” at their treatment by the company they bought into.
While Tilray is working to improve sales and boost the beer firm’s reputation in the UK market at large, it is these ‘equity punks’ who are the main addressees of Brewdog’s official reset.
Equity punks choose Wetherspoon over Brewdog
Crowding into a small room at Brewdog’s Waterloo site, which Tilray officials described as Europe’s largest bar, these craft beer aficionados – many wearing Brewdog-branded t-shirts – listened to Tilray chief executive Irwin Simon’s attempts to win them over.
Simon began extolling the virtues of the Waterloo pub, which he said served 600,000 pints of beer last year and has hosted footballing “legends” including Peter Crouch and Rio Ferdinand in its bespoke podcasting studio.
“I went to a couple World Cup games in person, [but] it was more fun here. And I came over to London, even though the World Cup final was being plated in New York, to come and watch the World Cup final here. And it was more exciting. What a place to be,” he said.
Beyond the pubs, Tilray’s £50m investment proved its commitment to the beer, Simon added: “Yes, there’s new owners, but the quality of Brewdog brand, the product has not changed. […] Fasten your seatbelt, because it’s going to be exciting.”
The ‘equity punks’ were far from convinced. Invited to ask questions, these former investors offered a comprehensive critique of Brewdog’s new strategy.
One said took issue with the price of a pint. He said: “It doesn’t matter how fancy your promotions are. Nine quid a pint [here] or two pounds a pint of Bud Light at Wetherspoon, I’ll choose a pint of Bud Light.”
The brewer has strayed from the “fantastic” beers it used to produce, he added. “You walk into a Brewdog these days, you look at that tap list, [you think] fuck off. I’ll go with another pub.”
Another ‘equity punk’ urged Brewdog to pursue more collaborations with local brewers. “To be able to try something weird and wonderful was fantastic,” he said.
“I’m not competing with Bud Light, and I don’t want to compete with Bud Light. Nobody here wants me to become Bud Light. That’s not where Brewdog is going to go,” Simon responded.
“Whether it’s our Hazy Jane [IPA], whether it’s our Punk [IPA], the foundation has to go back to what the foundation of Brewdog was, and understanding what craft is,” he added.
Watt offers free stakes
Brewdog’s sales had been “horrible” immediately following Tilray’s takeover of the company, Simon admitted, falling as much as 20 per cent year on year. But Brewdog’s new boss urged these ‘equity punks’ to get onside.
“It’s a new owner, and ultimately, hopefully, [the] consumer understands that and gives us a second chance,” Simon told City AM.
While Brewdog’s ‘equity punks’ no longer hold stakes in the company, Tilray has offered these former shareholders a number of perks, including 50 per cent off on Mondays and 15 per cent off for the rest of the week.
Some ‘equity punks’, however, have not abandoned James Watt, the Brewdog co-founder who has said he was “heartbroken” by the company’s collapse.
Watt has offered these shareholders free stakes in his recent ventures, including beer brand Second Best and hangover recovery drink Fool’s Fix.
“When BrewDog failed, the thing that stayed with me wasn’t losing a business. It was knowing I hadn’t delivered the outcome the Equity Punks deserved. Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business for them,” he has said.
More than 50,000 former Brewdog shareholders have claimed their stakes in Watt’s new ventures, it is understood. Though many ‘equity punks’ are unlikely to shun their Brewdog discounts regardless of their quibbles with its new owners, others may be settling for second best.
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