Say hello to our head of (h)operations...

Ever wondered how your beer makes it from our brewery to your glass? Sadly contrary to the rumours, some voodoo magic and an army of Aberdeenshire garden gnomes aren’t responsible for BrewDog’s logistics arrangements. Instead, it’s something much more unexpected – a man call Brian; a man called Brian who also happens to be our UK Head of (H)operations. So when it comes to your next BrewDog beer – whether it’s in a glass, out a bottle or in a keg – you’ve got Brian to thank.

While beer, postage and packing are the bread and butter to Brian’s day, it's not always been this way. In fact, Brian didn't cotton on to a career in craft until a holiday to the beery haven of Belgium ignited his passion for the stuff:

“When I was at Uni, my friends and I went over to Belgium to spend time at the European Commission during the summer one year.  We would then go round the Trapiste breweries around Brussels and Bruges, doing the tours and drinking as much Belgian beer as possible.  That was my gateway into beer and the variety on offer." 

So now that Brian’s part of the BrewDog family, he’s actually got one of the most important jobs of all – making sure our beer gets to thirsty craft beer lovers. And needless to say, his responsibilities don’t just stop at logistics:

“I’m primarily involved in the UK logistics and order fulfilment for wholesalers and bars out with the BrewDog bars, and the management of the online shop, which has just been overhauled and improved.  Other than that the best thing about my job is that there are 101 other things I’ll be doing each day that are not part of this.  Yesterday I was involved in dealing directly with customers, today I’m booking in and entering all our beer for the Beer World Cup next month in the US, and tomorrow I’m doing work on the AGM planning.”

Sadly for Brian, his working life didn’t start amidst the craft beer chaos of BrewDog HQ. Instead, Brian was chained to the monotony of the corporate machine where independent thought and – dare we say – individuality, were viewed as weapons of mass distraction. 

“Before I came to work for BrewDog I worked in a very, very corporate environment where the level of variety and challenges that were thrown my way every day were minimal.  Here at BrewDog we are all passionate about the company, from James and Martin right down to the guys who only work part time with us, when they have time to.  It’s great the way everyone works together and right now the brewers are teaching me to brew, which is helping me appreciate and understand the beer from a completely different perspective.  It’s a great experience and an awesome culture to work in.”

It’s true that getting to hang out with your friends and learn how to brew beer in your lunch break is pretty unique. At the same time, Brian also has the somewhat unenviable task of representing the interests of BrewDog fans the world over, which can become particularly stressful when there’s often not enough beer to go round.

“The big challenge for me is the level of demand. We simply don’t have enough beer at times and I hate disappointing customers and having to explain that they’re going to have to wait a little bit longer for the beer they can't wait to drink. We are expanding (thank goodness) and a combination of an ever-growing team to help manage supply and demand coupled with an awesome new brewery with way more capacity means this should become a problem of the past.”

So given the rocketing demand, what’s Brian’s thinking behind the rise and rise of craft beer?

“Seeing people enjoying themselves and getting passionate about something is infectious and that’s exactly the affect craft beer has. You can’t beat the sight of someone’s face when they try a totally new beer for the first time.  To see their face go confused, and then hurry to take that next sip is amazing.  Our bars are perfect for this, as the staff are so knowledgeable, that the new customer is given a great experience.  Even if they don’t like a beer, you can be sure there is another craft beer that they will like.  The diversity and flavours are just so vast.”

So as the rest of the world settles down to a BrewDog – that’s likely to have been picked, packed and dispatched under the careful eye of Brian and the team – what are the three words that explain Brian’s dedication to keep the logistics at BrewDog well oiled?

“Put simply, I’m 100% dedicated to the cause as, at the core of it, I'm nothing more than a ‘craft beer junkie’"