Brewdog creators ’flattered’ by fake Chinese bar

Taps at the genuine Brewdog bar in Edinburgh's Cowgate. Picture: Neil Hanna

A picture of the ‘Brew Dog’ bar in the city of Changzhou in the country’s Jiangsu province was shared on Twitter by company co-founder James Watt, and the brewery have commented on the imitation on their official website.

In a blog on the Brewdog site, Watt said: “There’s something that says ‘you’ve made it’ when a weird replica of your craft beer brand is peddling beers through counterfeit taps somewhere in the world’s biggest country.

“I honestly cannot wait to visit (fake) BrewDog China. Is there a fake James and Martin we can meet? Because that would be awesome.”

Watt, who co-founded the brewery with Martin Dickie in 2007, said: “BrewDog exists to make everyone as passionate about beer as we are, and frankly your choice to build a fake BrewDog bar in Changzhou – rather than a fake McDonald’s, a fake Starbucks or a fake Nike Town – suggests to me that we are getting there.

“You see, in 2007 we were just two humans and a dog. At that point, having a counterfeit bar carrying our logo in a part of China I can’t pronounce was just a pipe dream.

“We wanted to start a craft beer revolution, and we see your little bar as very much an ally in that revolution.”

A Brewdog spokesperson told Scotsman.com that the Changzhou bar is the only ‘fake’ Brewdog venture the company are aware of, with multiple fans making Watt aware of the operation.

The spokesperson added: “[Brewdog] will not be taking any legal action against the bar, and actually find the whole thing quite humorous, and in fact think it could be good for the spread of craft beer globally.”

Brewdog operate 12 bars across the UK - including venues in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh - as well as a bar in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

The brewery has announced the launch of BrewDog Tokyo in Japan in March, a Sao Paulo branch in early 2014, and plans to open bars in Germany and the USA in the near future.