James Watt reveals plans to launch beer business

Revealing plans on social media for Second Best, Watt outlined how those who were BrewDog Equity Punks can claim the same equity stake they once held in BrewDog for free in the new business.

He said: “Thousands of people trusted me to build a fantastic beer business and create value for them.

“It was an obligation I took and still take, very seriously and I for one, am not done with that obligation.”

He said he was launching the new beer business and an open invitation where 19.3% will be allocated to Equity Punks.

Building better

“No catches, no cash required and your equity in Second Best will always rank alongside my own,” Watt added.

“You’ll own it, I’ll fund it and I’m going to dedicate myself to building it. We’re going to start small, we’re going to be obsessive about the beer and we’re going to build this thing from the ground up.

“We’re going to take advantage of the highs, the lows, we’re going to take the learnings from the successes and the failures and this time, hopefully we can build something even better.”

Watt didn’t give an exact launch date for the new venture but said it would enter the market when it had “all the relevant licences and legal consents in place”.

He added: “Because that may take some time, we are initially launching a really interesting alcohol adjacent concept (more on this soon). And you will also have the opportunity to own part of this exciting new brand for free.”

Community opinion

He also shared more on LinkedIn, stating he wanted to do things differently, “smaller, more focused, more obsessive about quality. And I want to build it with the community from day one.”

Watt also asked for thoughts on a plethora of areas including packaging.

Watt founded BrewDog alongside Martin Dickie in 2007 and stepped down as chief executive in May 2024 after 17 years at the helm of the business.

Earlier this year (March), the former BrewDog boss said he was “heartbroken” following the £33m sale of the business to Tilray.