BrewDog, the controversial Scottish brewer, is moving onto cheesing off its fanatical fans having already thoroughly aggravated its employees past and present.
The company seems determined to test the truth of the maxim that there is no such thing as bad publicity, with the latest potential own goal involving a “solid gold” beer can that is actually made mostly of brass.
READ "No such thing as bad publicity" is put to the test at BrewDog
The brewery had claimed that the cans are worth £15,000, which is great news for the lucky few who found a “solid gold” beer can in their hideously overhyped Punk IPA 12-pack, except that according to a story in the Scottish edition of The Sun newspaper, the can is mostly made of brass … like the neck of James Watt, the controversial co-founder and chief executive of the brewer and bars operator.
The Sun reported that one winner, Mark Craig, contacted the company to ask for certification relating to the can and was surprised to find it was gold-plated, rather than solid gold.
“When I contacted them they told me the ‘solid gold’ claim was an error,” Craig told the Sun.
How big an error is up to the Advertising Standards Authority to determine. It has confirmed that following a complaint, it is looking into BrewDog’s advertising campaign which ran in the run-up to last Christmas.
Great PR stunt by @BrewDog
They have hidden 10 solid gold cans in their 12 pack of punk IPA that are worth 15k each!
The winner also gets 10k of shares in the company.
Time to get the drinks in!! ???? pic.twitter.com/2tYOQtSKqE
— David White (@david_white90) November 15, 2020
Brew Dog admitted the use of the phrase “solid gold” was a mistake - a very eye-catching one - but stood by its £15,000 valuation based on the rarity value as well as the gold content.
“The phrasing in question was never included in the terms and conditions of the competition, nor in the wording informing winners of their prize,” was BrewDog’s get-out clause.
Meanwhile, The Times newspaper reports that BrewDog’s boss, James Watt, has confirmed that property assets he owned that had been leased to BrewDog are in the process of being sold.
Watt was responding to concerns that BrewDog might have been a bit too generous in leasing property assets from Watt, such as a bar in Columbus, Ohio that it sold to Watt and then leased back.
According to The Times, BrewDog said all the deals had been conducted at market rates.
Watt has strenuously denied that the arrangements had been set up to siphon money out of BrewDog, and claimed he had offered 27 months of rent-free holidays on three locations he owned that had been leased to BrewDog.
‘The business plan was to make amazing hoppy beers and tell lies to banks“ James Watt of Brewdog #meaningconf
— Aden Davies (@aden_76) November 8, 2013
Watt claimed that the sale of the assets is all part of a maturation process as the company heads, at a glacial pace, to a long-touted stock market listing that would, at last, make it easier for all of those who received BrewDog shares in the company’s crowdfunding escapades to offload their shares should they wish to do so.
Smaller investors have pumped £80mln into Brewdog, according to the Financial Times, and as well as receiving shares they have received discounts on BrewDog products.
Private equity firm TSG is said to have a 22% stake and would likely sell some or all of its shares in the event of a stock market flotation.