James Watt

The Climb

BrewDog’s early build belongs to the late-2000s Scottish craft beer push, with Fraserburgh as the operating base and beer as the public claim. James Watt entered that work after training at University of Edinburgh and moving through roles as a trainee solicitor, professional fisherman, and deep-sea captain’s license holder. In 2007, he became co-founder and CEO at BrewDog in Fraserburgh, Scotland (2007–2024), a period that also put the brewery into wider media through an appearance on reality TV show Brew Dogs at Esquire Network (from 2013) and a role as co-launcher at BrewDog Network (from 2017). The current structure keeps the brewery role separate from the next company build: James is captain and co-founder of BrewDog (since 2024) and founder of Second Best (since 2026).

Today

The title keeps the nautical language of his earlier life close to the business role that defines his public career. Second Best extends the same operating pattern into a separate founder role, which James began in 2026.

Signature

The signature register is tied to beers made to be named and remembered in the market, including Tokyo and Tactical Nuclear Penguin.

In Their Words “Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business and create value for them. It was an obligation I took very seriously. And I, for one, am not done with that obligation.” “We’re gaining next to nothing. It’s all about helping other people get started in making beer and improving the availability of good beer.”

Recognition

James Watt has received World Beer Cup Gold Medal for Hardcore IPA (2010). Formal recognition includes Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) (2016), attached to James Watt’s public record in beer and business.