BrewDog taking a bite out of the Apple 

Back in the early days of BrewDog, I interviewed its co-founders, James Watt and Martin Dickie, during which time every question was fielded with gusto by Watt. Dickie, meanwhile, sat in silence. When I enquired whether he ever said anything, his response was: “No. I just brew beer.”

Rewinding the clock back to the early days of Apple, I’m thinking a similar scenario could probably have been played out with the technology company’s two co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. I’m sure Jobs, the marketing guru, would have been the motor-mouth, while the quiet, studious Wozniak would have responded to my question with: “No. I just build circuit boards.”
 
I reckon there are other parallels between these two companies. Please bear with me on this. They were also both founded as scrappy businesses looking to disrupt markets. Apple had the large monolithic computer makers like IBM in its sites while BrewDog had a visceral dislike for the large global mega-brewers that it pitched itself up against in a David versus Goliath-like battle.
 
Both companies grew on the back of having some terrific marketing. There is no doubt that Jobs sits atop the pile of marketing greats as he sold a device that people had no idea why they would want or need one. Likewise, Watt did an incredible job in the early days at BrewDog (helped by its agency Manifest) with a catalogue of headline-grabbing stunts.
 
Some highlights: it launched the world’s strongest beer in a limited run of only 12 bottles, encased in dead stoats, squirrels and a hare; it drove a tank down the high street to promote the opening of its first London pub; Watt rode bare-chested on horseback mimicking Vladimir Putin to promote a beer protesting at Russia’s anti-gay laws named “Hello My Name is Vladimir”; and it threw dozens of “Fat Cat” stuffed toys from a helicopter while flying over the City of London during an Equity for Punks fundraising.
 
But amid all the marketing wheezes, both companies had quality products behind the bluster. Wozniak was an engineering genius who developed pioneering circuit boards (with limited materials and no budget), and when the first Apple PC hit the market, it looked like something from another planet had landed.

Similarly, Dickie was no slouch in his chosen field, having co-created Jaipur IPA when at Thornbridge Brewery in the very first days, and that is still its top-selling beer after almost 20 years. There is no doubt he created some quality beers at BrewDog, including the flagship Punk IPA that set it apart from the competition and attracted mainstream drinkers into the craft category.
 
Along the way, both companies brought in experienced “adults” to help them run their respective businesses. At BrewDog, they’ve had a variety of senior executives in the door, including Gareth Bath in the early days, and more recently, Asda chief executive Allan Leighton, who joined as chairman. At Apple, John Sculley was tempted to join as chief executive while working at Pepsico, with Jobs’ immortal line: “Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?” However, the relationship soured bitterly, and Jobs was forced out from the business in 1985.
 
While the departure of hard-charging and demanding Jobs was played out in the media, the quiet Wozniak left around the same time without any fanfare whatsoever. It’s been a similar story at BrewDog, where Watt had been engulfed in accusations from employees of creating a toxic workplace culture, which was lapped up by the media before he departed in May 2024. Meanwhile, Dickie quietly departed the scene earlier this year.
 
The exit of the founders from both businesses coincided with their creations suffering tough trading in their respective markets. Such was the cratering of Apple that it faced a near-existential crisis, and Jobs ultimately made a triumphant return in an attempt to save the business from collapse. We all know how this played out, and Apple did ultimately change the world.
 
At BrewDog, it is still early days after Watt’s departure, but troubles at the (admittedly a seller of hoppy water rather world-changing technology) business are obvious. It has initiated a programme of pub closures and suffered reduced sales in the on-trade. Losses have continued to mount, and there is also the issue of the increasing debt load on the company held by its long-standing shareholder, TSG, which is no doubt calling the shots behind the new chief executive James Taylor. If things get really desperate at BrewDog and it comes close to hitting the rocks, it wouldn’t be too improbable to see the Jobs-like return of Watt.

Glynn Davis, editor of Retail Insider 

This piece was originally published on Propel Info where Glynn Davis writes a regular Friday opinion piece. Beer Insider would like to thank Propel for allowing the reproduction of this column.