BREWDOG are planning to take revenge on the corporate drinks giant that tried to rob them of an industry award.
The Scottish firm has asked fans to come up with names for a new ale to commemorate Diageo’s failed bid to stop them winning Bar Operator of the Year.
Diageo was forced to apologise for trying to pressure the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) in to withdrawing the gong, even threatening to pull its advertising.
Brewdog said today that they have still not received the award trophy – 10 days after the Glasgow awards ceremony was plunged into chaos.
The company have now revealed on their Facebook and Twitter pages that they are planning a new beer to mark Diageo’s spectacular PR disaster.
The firm wrote: “Might brew a beer to commemorate the Diageo Scandal. But what should we call it?”
Some of the more creative suggestions from beer fans include “Scandale” and “Fail Ale”.
A spokeswoman for the firm, based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said: “They are indeed thinking about it, although nothing had been decided as yet with regards to beer name or content.”
The BII had engraved Brewdog’s name on the award when representatives from sponsors Diageo – whose brands including Guinness, Smirnoff and Baileys – overruled them.
Farcical scenes ensued as the intended new recipients refused to accept the honour. The BII apologised for bowing to pressure and confirmed Brewdog as the winners.
But James Watt, the co-founder of BrewDog, said the company had still not received its award.
He said: “We think the Diageo CEO should hand deliver us the award with an apology in person.”
He added: “For a business like BrewDog, awards can make a huge difference.”
A spokeswoman for BrewDog added: “No-one from the BII has confirmed either way as to whether BrewDog will receive the award, but from a moral standpoint they’re disappointed with the whole incident which makes a mockery of the awards process.
“BrewDog won the award for their outstanding bar division and the recognition is important to them.”
BrewDog was founded five years ago by Mr Watt and school-friend Martin Dickie after they entered their homebrew into a Tesco taste competition.
Within this time the company has grown from a £30,000 brewery to a turnover of £7million.
This year’s projected revenue is £12million.
No-one was available to comment from Diageo.
The firm has previously blamed the scandal on a “serious misjudgement by Diageo staff”.
