Best Pub Brand/Concept, sponsored by Moet Hennessy: BrewDog

And the Scottish-based business, which has 72 UK bars and eight in the US, shows no signs of stopping its expansion. It also has franchise sites and hotels and plans to open more bars internationally with Italy and India being targeted.

Its environmental policies are renowned such as its Lost Forest where trees will be planted to help combat the carbon footprint the business makes along with a pledge to do the same for its employees and their families. It is also a carbon-negative business.

Investing in employees

A profit-sharing scheme demonstrates the business values its employees and is willing to invest in them too.

Selling its own beers, spirits, soft drinks and RTD cocktails means plenty of money goes straight back into the business, its food offer is tipping the scales at some of its sites and outselling wet goods. It sees itself not just a beer bar but a great hospitality experience with plenty of offers available on a day-to-day basis and plant-based dishes make up about 50% of the menu.

Its typical bar though has close to 30 draught taps and serves a wide range of styles plus guest drinks too that gives the smaller brewer a place to make their name and make big sales too.

Loyalty encouraged

Initiatives such as ‘beer passport’ encourage loyalty and the chance to collect stamps to show customers have been to its many sites and there’s also pin badges to collect.

Its recent launch of stout Black Heart, which the business sees as a direct rival to Guinness, is just one of its many new products – of which about two are rolled out per month but can increase due to seasonality.

BrewDog potentially started the craft beer movement and its sites impart plenty of ‘cool’ for visiting customers. Its mammoth Waterloo site is example of this and there’s plenty to discover for visitors and not just the slide that can be taken from the first floor to the ground floor… there’s much more but customers can find discover these with no spoilers.