Brewdog chief executive and co-founder James Watt has been accused of inappropriate behavior and abuse of power in the workplace by employees.
The allegations are coming out of a documentary by BBC Scotland, where the brewery was founded. According to the news organization, over a dozen current and former employees of the company have made accusations against Watt, including employees from BrewDog's Central Ohio locations.
Lawyers for Watt have said the allegations are false and he denies having behaved inappropriately.
Last year, 300 former and current BrewDog employees signed an open letter accusing the BrewDog chief of leading over a "toxic" workplace culture. Watt at the time responded to the letter with an apology, and a subsequent response from former employees foreshadowed the current accusations.
"Many of the things that ground us down at BrewDog will never be proved, because they happened in person, and thus we felt we had to remain vague – citing specific examples could expose people to repercussions," read the second open letter, published by Punks with a Purpose, a group formed in 2020 to call out the company and its silence during allegations of more widespread sexism and misogyny. "It's not our intention to share more stories at this moment, but make no mistake – we hear these people, we believe and support them, and if the right circumstances arise, we will help amplify their voices too."
The documentary now sheds light on additional claims, including that female employees of the BrewDog DogTap, the brewery's flagship taproom and facility in Canal Winchester, would intentionally dress down as to not draw attention from Watt, and that Watt had been witnessed by staff kissing an intoxicated customer on the roof of BrewDog's Franklinton bar.
Other accusations included that Watt had been witnessed flirting with a staff member before taking her to the roof at BrewDog's Canal Winchester headquarters, and regularly took intoxicated women customers on private, late-night tours of the DogTap brewery, making employees feel uncomfortable.
Watt's lawyer told the BBC that he does not just take female customers on private tours, but "both women and men, friends and customers," and that people who accompany him are not intoxicated.
The lawyer said the claim, made last year, was investigated by BrewDog USA's human resources and was not substantiated.
As for claims Watt gave unwanted attention to female staff members, the lawyer pointed to an investigation by Worthington-based human resources outsourcing firm Centric HC, which concluded there was "no substance" to the claims.