BrewDog beers axed by almost 2,000 pubs

BrewDog’s beers have been axed by almost 2,000 pubs across Britain in a major blow to the embattled brewer.

The company’s range of draught beers have disappeared entirely from approximately 1,860 pubs in the last two years – cutting its UK distribution by more than a third, according to confidential pub industry data.

These figures also show that BrewDog’s best-known beer, Punk IPA, has suffered the worst loss after being removed from 1,980 pubs over the same period – a 52.3pc decline in distribution as pubs shrink down their offering and drinkers turn away from the brand.

An industry source said BrewDog was “losing taps in the [pub and bar trade] like you wouldn’t believe” as pubs opt for rival beers such as Camden Town and Beavertown instead.

Most of the pubs scrapping BrewDog beers are part of chains and owned by large pub companies, removing a key source of revenue for the brewer at the same time as it struggles to revive its fortunes.

The collapse in BrewDog’s UK distribution comes following a turbulent period that saw the one-time darling of the craft beer scene post massive losses and face allegations of a “toxic” workplace culture.

Last month, the company was forced to close 10 of its own branded bars across the UK including its flagship site in Aberdeen after deciding they were not “commercially viable”.

It highlights the pressure on James Taylor, BrewDog’s chief executive, to reverse the company’s declining fortunes.

BrewDog has recorded losses of £59m in 2023 and £30.5m in 2022. Mr Taylor admitted in a recent interview with The Telegraph that the company would again be in the red this year.

According to the industry insider, the pub retrenchment is likely to make BrewDog ever more reliant on JD Wetherspoon, whose 794 pubs now make up a significant chunk of its remaining distribution,

“If they ever lost the JD Wetherspoon deal, then that’s Punk IPA done as a [pub trade] product,” they said.

Lauren Caroll, BrewDog’s chief operating officer, said: “Independent brewers across the board have felt the squeeze from the economic pressures hitting the pub trade. With costs rising and consumers watching their spend, pub groups have been narrowing their ranges, and brewery-owned pubs are putting more emphasis on their own brands.

“It’s not just us – every independent brewer has been affected. We saw the trend coming, which is why we’ve shifted focus to high-impact channels like festivals, stadiums, and independent [pubs].”

Founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, BrewDog rose to prominence in the 2010s amid a boom in demand for independent beers and hoppy IPAs.

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Led by Mr Watt as chief executive, the company became known for marketing stunts such as driving a tank through London and brewing what it claimed was the world’s strongest beer to be served from a taxidermy squirrel.Former BrewDog chief James Watt pictured, right. The brewery rose to prominence in the 2010s amid a boom in demand for hoppy IPAs - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe

However, in recent years it has been dogged by controversies including high-profile allegations of a “culture of fear” that emerged in an open letter from former employees and people working there at the time.

Mr Watt was also accused of acting inappropriately with female staff following a BBC investigation, which he stringently denied. He stepped down as chief executive in 2024, handing over control to James Arrow, then its chief operating officer.

Mr Arrow left BrewDog after less than a year in post and was replaced by Mr Taylor, a former fashion industry executive, who has overseen a major rebrand of the company’s beers and hopes to restore faith in the company.

Further criticism has been heaped on the decision to sell a stake to the American private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners in 2017, which minted Mr Watt and Mr Dickie as millionaires.

The unorthodox deal forced BrewDog to deliver an 18pc compounding return to TSG, which rapidly increases the interest on TSG’s shares on an annual basis

This is believed to threaten the shareholdings of thousands of “Equity Punk” retail investors who plied their savings into the brewer as it grew.

Asked about this last month, Mr Taylor said: “I will try and create shareholder value for everybody and what happens in the future in terms of the value of that? Well, quite frankly, it’s an academic conversation for the moment.”

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