Diageo Screw BrewDog
09.05.2012
The 2012 BII Scotland Annual Awards: Celebrating success in the license trade in Scotland. BII are an organisation (www.bii.org) whose mission is to raise standards in licensed retail. The awards on Sunday 6th May were a huge glitzy affair held at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.
Kerry, Mark, Neil S and Neil T attended the award ceremony. We had heard that BrewDog were expected to do quite well in the ‘Bar Operator of the Year’ category and the members of the bar team were suitable excited to see if our hard work would be recognised by this most prestigious and illustrious award.
Neil Taylor and Kerry on the night of the awards. They scrubbed up well!
However we were not announced as winners of the award. This disappointment was further compounded when one of the judges (seated at our table) told us in disbelief ‘this simply cannot be, the independent judging panel voted for BrewDog as clear winners of the award’.
Events took a further twist when the people who got given the award refused to accept it as it clearly had ‘BrewDog’ engraved on the trophy as winners.
On Tuesday, 2 days after the award, I (James) took a phone call from Kenny Mitchell, Chairman of the BII in Scotland and Chairman of the Award Committee explaining the situation. To directly quote Kenny:
‘We are all ashamed and embarrassed about what happened. The awards have to be an independent process and BrewDog were the clear winner’
‘Diageo (the main sponsor) approached us at the start of the meal and said under no circumstances could the award be given to BrewDog. They said if this happened they would pull their sponsorship from all future BII events and their representatives would not present any of the awards on the evening.’
We were as gobsmacked as you by Diageo’s behaviour. We made the wrong decision under extreme pressure. We were blackmailed and bullied by Diageo. We should have stuck to our guns and gave the award to BrewDog.‘
We would like to thank Kenny Mitchell and the BII for their refreshing honesty here and for initially giving the award to BrewDog before their overbearing and blackmailing sponsor undermined the independent judging process completely by bullying them at the last minute to deny BrewDog of an award they rightfully won.
As for Diageo, once you cut through the glam veneer of pseudo corporate responsibility this incident shows them to be a band of dishonest hammerheads and dumb ass corporate freaks. No soul and no morals, with the integrity of a rabid dog and the style of a wart hog.
Perhaps more tellingly it is an unwitting microcosm for just how the beer industry is changing and just how scared and jealous the gimp-like establishment are of the craft beer revolutionaries.
We would advise them to drink some craft beer. To taste the hops and live the dream. It is hard to be a judas goat when you are drinking a Punk IPA.
Walk tall, kick ass and learn to speak craft beer.
j x
i think i'll try to stay away from their stuff in the future.
I think I just done a little sick in my mouth
Have you been in touch with Diageo or neard from them? Not that I'd expect you to initiate contact after what they did, but would be very interested to hear what they have to say for themselves!
I will now to the same to all Diageo products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diageo
Section 3: Controversies
Feel free to send a some dog poo to:
Free Post
Diageo plc
Lakeside Drive
Park Royal
London
NW107HQ
Don't fuck with @brewdog as it will eventually come and bite you on the arse!
I've just read about your ludicrous and disgusting pettiness at the BII awards - where you shafted BrewDog out of an award that was clearly theirs.
not only is it pathetic, but it just goes to show that what they are doing (caring about products, consumers and the craft of making amazing beer) is the antithesis of your ideals.
I'm sure this little news story will help brewDog win even more awareness, awards and customers.
I'll drink to that (not some fizzy piss water, you can count on that).
Nick
Bit of an own goal really - if they wanted to be proper evil geniuses of the brewing industry they should have got the vote rigged before Brewdog's name was on the trophy! No?
Be they were hoping this would not get out.
I will never touch their products again.
Fucking corporate whores.
Surely it's only right to hear the other side of the story before making any judgement calls about this situation.
Next beer to be called 'Up Your Diageo'?
Of all the small drinks companies to screw over too. Surely they should have known BrewDog would bite back?
And how.
BII should have stood their ground.
As for Diageo - this deserves to be a massive PR disaster for them. Shockingly arrogant and corrupt.
Mind the Montreal Screwjob in the wrestling? Same thing.
I make a point of never consuming anything they produce.
Diageo have been shown to be crooked, blackmailing bullies.
And for the record, their Tusker 'beer' is one of the worst I have ever tasted.
so much for UK drinks industry being friendly.
I am going to call Diageo UK on 020 8978 6000 and tell them what I think.
Fuck Diageo
will never buy their shit again.
1. You have the mainstream brewing establishment running scared.
2. You are doing exactly the right thing.
Keep up the good work!
Well done to BII for being so open too.
http://www.diageo.com/en-row/ourbrands/categories/Pages/Beers.aspx
These are among the brands that the growth of craft beer is starting to impact in terms of sales. And long may it continue!
Shocking behaviour by them though to act like that after all the hard work by everyone involved in the bars.