Brewdog opened the biggest bar in London in Waterloo and its sparked a huge debate | indy100

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Brewdog

Brewdog has opened the biggest bar in London, and social media users have had a lot to say about it.

The Scottish brewer has moved into a new location in Waterloo and it’s not your standard boozer.

For starters, it’s absolutely massive and looks more like an airport than a bar. Then, there’s a host of extras added which would have plenty of old school pub goers rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

There’s a photo booth and for some reason there’s an in-house podcast studio.

However, the biggest oddity is a slide coming down from the upper level.

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\u201cWe are opening the biggest bar in the UK tomorrow with a capacity of 1775!\n\nHere is my little behind the scenes tour of the amazing @BrewdogWaterloo\u201d
— James Watt (@James Watt) 1660724747

Brewdog opened the pub this week and co-founder James Watt posted a tour of the new venue.

Judging by the majority of comments on Twitter, though, it’s not gone down too well.

People took issue with the layout of the new pub, while others referenced the controversies surrounding the company – BrewDog previously apologised after former workers alleged there is a "culture of fear" at the beer firm, with "toxic attitudes" towards junior staff.

\u201c@alexmassie I love brewdog beer. I quite like brewdog pubs. I would not go in there if you paid me.\u201d
— alexmassie (@alexmassie) 1660742141

\u201cWhen I thought I couldn't hate Brewdog any more than I do, they've gone and put this in their new "bar" I'm in bits here\u201d
— Sean (@Sean) 1660758780

\u201cBrewdog is Wetherspoons for people who think they\u2019re too good for Wetherspoons\u201d
— Scott (@Scott) 1660771497

\u201cDon\u2019t normally do sequels to my videos but made an exception by doing this one. Enjoy it. \ud83d\udc3f \ud83c\udf7a\u201d
— alistair green (@alistair green) 1660765135

\u201cHeard ur bf just did a fleet of him going down the brewdog slide\u201d
— Matthew Fellows (@Matthew Fellows) 1660744615

\u201cCan\u2019t think of many places I\u2019d rather go less than a 30,000 sq ft Brewdog.\u201d
— Alice (@Alice) 1660760803

Some also disputed the claim in Watt’s post that it was Britain’s biggest pub.

Brewhemia in Edinburgh wrote: “Numbers a bit wonky there James - might be the biggest Brewdog but we’ve a capacity of 1852 and by any maths that’s bigger than yours! You could say we’re the big dog…”

\u201c@BrewDogJames @BrewdogWaterloo Numbers a bit wonky there James - might be the biggest Brewdog but we\u2019ve a capacity of 1852 and by any maths that\u2019s bigger than yours! You could say we\u2019re the big dog\u2026 @TraceyMcR\u201d
— James Watt (@James Watt) 1660724747

It comes after BrewDog apologised after an open letter from former workers in 2021 stated a "significant number" of ex-employees suffered mental illness as a result of working at the company.

They claimed that the Scottish brewer was built upon a "cult of personality" around founders, Watt and Martin Dickie.

Responding to the letter, Watt said BrewDog was sorry and would not contest the allegations but would "listen, learn and act".

He said in a statement: "We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always, and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more.

"But most of all, right now, we are sorry."

BrewDog, founded in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in 2007, was valued at around $2bn (£1.4bn) in 2021.

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