BrewDog's chief executive has revealed that he is lodging an official complaint with the BBC and Ofcom over the “dozens of inaccuracies and false claims” contained in its recent Disclosure documentary.
In a LinkedIn post, James Watt reflected on a “difficult fortnight” following the release of the programme, which followed up on allegations of a toxic work culture at the Ellon-headquartered brewer made by around 300 former and current employees in an open letter last summer.
It also contained allegations from former BrewDog USA workers, who said Watt's behaviour meant female bartenders were advised how to avoid unwelcome attention from him, saying his conduct made them feel "powerless".
The documentary also suggested that he took women on private, late-night brewery tours, leaving them feeling uncomfortable.
He wrote: “We cannot simply stay quiet and allow these allegations to go unchallenged – that isn’t the BrewDog way.
“We knew full well the documentary was never going to be anything other than the ‘malicious hatchet job’ our legal counsel described it as.
“Watching it, alone, in my office was savage, this was simply not the BrewDog I know and love. It was a malicious caricature, based largely on untruths - I utterly refute the characterisation of me as well.”
Watt claimed that the accusations were “soul destroying” and revealed his concerns about the impact it has had on its employees and family.
“The abuse our social media and our customer service teams have received is simply extraordinary - to them I apologise and thank them for their stoicism in the face of this storm.”
Watt conceded that he isn’t perfect and neither is BrewDog, but he criticised the BBC for acting as “judge, jury and executioner”, claiming it's documentary was “sensationalist”.
Watt specifically reacted to the allegations around taking women on brewery tours, stating: “I often take friends, colleagues, business partners, and yes, sometimes dates, on brewery tours.
“In Columbus, we designed and built from scratch one of the world’s most beautiful breweries - it is something I am very proud of and I love to share it with as many people as I can - yet here I was getting torn to pieces on national TV for dating and giving tours of the brewery we built.”
On the allegation of making people uncomfortable, Watt revealed regrets, writing: “That was never my intention and the last thing I would want - I am trying hard to be more mindful of the impact I have on our team.
“Furthermore, I have been in touch with the entire team to let them know if anyone wants to speak to me directly about how I can have a more positive impact across our business.”
Complaints from former workers last summer led to BrewDog launching an independent investigation by HR consultancy Wiser, along with an independently-managed anonymous ethics hotline, an employee representative group, new workplace code, and appointing a new independent chairman.
However, the Punks With Purpose group that wrote the open letter last year launched its own complaint reporting platform earlier this week.
Watt said: “With the feedback from our teams we now have a clear roadmap for further improvements going forward - I have decided we will repeat this exercise to make sure we are delivering on our promises and we can show genuine progression.”
He added that he was making himself available so any member of staff could speak to him about the documentary or other concerns.
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