84. Brew Dog

Founders: James Watt, Martin Dickie
Website: www.brewdog.com

With its brightly coloured labels, chatty marketing strategy, and quirky names (‘Punk IPA’ and ‘Hop Rocker’ are just two of the varieties available), BrewDog is the antithesis of the corporate brands that feed the nation’s pumps. Co-founder James is passionate about their ethical side. “We got fed up of drinking bland, watered-down, rubbish beers, so we decided to make our own: they’re good quality, progressive, and innovative,” he says. The company now exports to eight different countries, but James remains cautious. “When you’re doing a start-up, you’ve got to have a lot of faith,” he says.