Say Hello to Angela

They say that behind every great man there's a great woman and the same applies to our brewery where it's office manager and resident drill sergeant Angela's job to ensure everything and everyone is kept in check.  Fraserburgh born and bred, Angela's been with us since 2008 and shoulders the responsibility for a heady mix of order taking, book balancing and – most importantly of all - making sure the supporters and suppliers of BrewDog have a smile on their faces and a beer in hand. Hailing from the rather conventional world of banking, Angela never imagined she'd end up in the beery surrounds of a brewery:

“Having gone to school with Martin I quickly found out the boys had started their own brewery when news of BrewDog's exploits started to drift round Fraserburgh; what I didn't know is that I'd end up in part of the grand plan. One day the boys asked me to pay a visit to the brewery. Their invite was so ambiguous I didn't know what to expect but when they offered me a job managing the day to day running of the brewery I couldn't turn it down; it's a tad more rock'n'roll than a 9-5 down the Halifax.”

While Martin's preoccupied as master brewer and the Emperor Penguin's doing his bit to spread the gospel of craft beer globally, an average day for Angela is a hectic one and about as predictable as a gaggle of 5-years-old fuelled by E numbers:

“Managing the BrewDog brewery is no mean feat and everyday is non stop. As well as organising the orders and doing the banking I chip in with just about everything; if I don't then finding the solution to any problems that occur is generally my job as well! Working in such a competitive industry with a product that's consumed by thousands of people also means that everyone has to do their bit properly, practically to the second; I'm not afraid to tell people when there's something needing doing.”

That's not to say that Angela isn't partial to causing her own share of chaos causing every now and again:

“Working in the brewery can be quite stressful at times; especially if you're trying to turn around an artisan product like ours that you know a lot of people are waiting in anticipation for. That said, I've only ever been reduced to tears once and that was when I managed to completely delete all our files – essentially the entire history of BrewDog. Luckily we had it all backed up. Luckily.”

When Angela's not trying to delete the past, she – like the rest of the team – are trying to write the future and while our office manager has plenty of other things do other than get her hands dirty with mash tuns and hop bags this didn't mean she's not partial to the odd brew after work:

“Naturally I've tried and tested all of our beers and I have to be honest and say that I'm a big fan of our stronger beers. Hardcore in particular is my favourite. I like drinks that have a really distinct flavour to them and the taste of the hops in Hardcore is very moreish.”

Now that we can officially say that our office manager is 'hardcore', it's no surprise that you won't find her drinking any of that mainstream guff that's the tipple of the Friday night masses. Thankfully for Angela's family and friends she's on a mission to show them back onto the good and righteous path as well:

“Before I worked for BrewDog I was completely unaware of the amount of additives, preservatives and colourings that go into many familiar beer brands. I think I've broadened my family and friends' horizons by introducing them to BrewDog. I think as well that we're helping to introduce more women to the lure of craft beer given there's no artificial nonsense – something which our female customers seem particularly interested in. 77 Lager and Trashy Blonde are firm favourites with BrewDog chicks.”



While Angela's got her friends and family covered, she's still got some way to go before she can convince the rest of the good people of Fraserburgh that BrewDog's got bite and bark in equal measure:

“More folk in the area desperately need to get on board with the idea of craft beer. If the beer is stocked locally people are more likely to give it a try."

So in between packing boxes, taking orders and giving them what part of the job would Angela happily fight tooth and claw for?

“We may be in the wilds of North East Scotland but being able to see the world – like going to Copenhagen for their beer festival – is absolutely priceless. At something like that you get to rub shoulders with absolute pioneers in the field like Mikkeller; as well as sampling amazing beer. That's not to say we don't have enough innovation going on in our home turf as well as a healthy dose of tongue in cheek that keeps BrewDog fresh. Take our new delivery boxes for example, initially James wanted the full expletive but I managed to convince him to put in the stars...we didn't want to offend the posties.”



Want to say hi to Angela? Get in touch [email protected] or leave a comment below.