Brewdog to stop making spirits at Scottish distillery

Scottish beer giant Brewdog has said it will stop making spirits at its distillery in Aberdeenshire.

The company will halt production of its distilling brands - which include Lonewolf Gin and Abstrakt Vodka - over the coming months, but will continue selling its line of cocktails.

Brewdog, which is best known for its beers and bars, described it as a "difficult" decision and has not said what impact the plans will have on jobs.

It is understood that the future of the distillery, which was built in Ellon in 2015, will be reviewed at a later date. Brewdog's main brewery at Ellon opened in 2012.

In a statement, Brewdog said: "After careful consideration, we've made the difficult decision to cease production of our distilling brands, with the exception of Wonderland cocktails.

"This will allow us to sharpen our focus."

Brewdog announced job cuts across the business in October last year after posting a £37m loss.

Earlier in the year it announced the closure of 10 bars across the UK, including its flagship pub in Aberdeen.

Brewdog, which was founded by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, has breweries and pubs across the globe, including about 60 in the the UK.

In recent years it has made headlines for its marketing campaigns and workplace culture.

In 2024 the firm faced a backlash after revealing it would no longer hire new staff on the real living wage, instead paying the lower legal minimum wage.

Watt later stood down as chief executive officer and moved to a newly-created position of "captain and co-founder".

Dickie left the company last year, saying that he took the decision for personal reasons.