BrewDog is facing a serious blow to business after nearly 2,000 pubs across Britain chose to cut ties.
The Scottish company has been taken off the menus of approximately 1,860 pubs over the last two years, reducing its UK distribution by over a third, according to industry insider data.
Punk IPA, BrewDog’s best-known beer, has been removed from 1,980 boozers in the same period, signifying a 52.3 per cent drop in distribution.
A source told The Sunday Telegraph that BrewDog was “losing taps like you wouldn’t believe” as punters lean towards rival draught beers, including London’s Beavertown and Camden Town.
Pubs in Shepherd’s Bush, Camden and Shoreditch are said to be affected. Across the rest of the UK, BrewDog faces losses in Oxford, Brighton, Leeds, Sheffield and Dundee.
Many of the pubs sidelining BrewDog are owned by chains and large companies, sabotaging a key source of income for the brewer as tries to focus on damage control.
The decline in BrewDog’s distribution comes after a difficult period in which it faces huge losses and battles accusations of having a “toxic” workplace culture.
Last month, BrewDog had to close 10 of its namesake bars across the UK, including its flagship site in Aberdeen, after concluding they were not “commercially viable”.
It emphasises the responsibility laid squarely on the shoulders of the company’s chief executive, James Taylor, to redeem the company’s fate.
Losses of £59 million were reported for the brand in 2023, and £30.5 million in 2022. Mr Taylor recently said that BrewDog would be in the red again this year.
BrewDog is now reportedly dependent on JD Wetherspoon, which runs 794 pubs across the UK.
“If they ever lost the JD Wetherspoon deal, then that’s Punk IPA done as a (pub trade( product,” a source commented.
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).”
BrewDog was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie amid a boom in popularity for independent beers and India Pale Ale.
Under the previous steer of Mr Watt as chief executive, the company rose to fame for marketing stunts including driving a tank through London and brewing what it claimed to be the world’s strongest beer, served through a taxidermy squirrel.
In recent years, the brand has fallen into disrepute as it garnered attention for having a “culture of fear”, according to an open letter signed by former and current employees.
Mr Watt attracted controversy after allegations emerged of him acting inappropriately with female members of staff, a BBC investigation found, which he denied.
He subsequently resigned as chief executive in 2024 and handed over control of the company to James Arrow, its then-chief operator.
Mr Arrow stood down from his role after less than a year, handing over to Mr Taylor, who previously worked in the fashion industry.
He oversaw a major rebrand of company and hopes to steer BrewDog into calmer waters.
Mr Watt and Mr Dickie faced more controversy in 2017 after a controversial move to sell a stake in the company to American private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.
The deal forced BrewDog to deliver an 18 per cent compounding return to TSG, rapidly increasing the interest on TSG’s shares, year on year.
It is believed to endanger the shareholdings of thousands of “Equity Punk” retail investors, who chipped in to support the brewer as it grew.
Last month, Mr Taylor responded to the criticism saying: “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.”
