BrewDog-owned Aberdeen bar the Hop and Anchor, which closed down during Covid, is to reopen this week – just in time for the brewer’s annual extravaganza.
The Exchange Street bar shut during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and has remained mothballed since.
But this week, staff are dusting down the magnificent-looking venue – which has previously been a church, a restaurant and a banana warehouse – to relaunch on Thursday August 10. Doors open at 5pm.
The reopening comes just days before thousands of people are expected to show up in Aberdeen for BrewDog’s AGM, or Annual General Mayhem.
The get-together, on Saturday August 13, is an annual party for the brewer’s fans, where they can drink beer, listen to live music and hear from BrewDog co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie.
The event is in Hazlehead Park for the first time. The last time it was held, in 2019, it was at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
“Now is the perfect time for us to get up and running again,” Hop and Anchor assistant manager Kieran Gaffney said of the bar’s relaunch. “The whole team is working to get the place back to looking like it was before.”
The Hop and Anchor’s turbulent past
Aberdeen’s Hop and Anchor first opened in March 2019 as something of a landmark for Ellon-based BrewDog.
The year before, the brewer acquired all 14 London bars in the Draught House chain. The company opened the Hop and Anchor as the first Draught House pub outside of the UK capital.
However, in March 2020, the bar was forced to close in the face of UK Covid restrictions. It reopened for a two-week run in the summer of 2020 before closing again.
Assistant manager Kieran said staff are excited to spearhead the reopening and have been going through old photos of the bar to make sure it looks as good as before.
On the drinks menu are a range of craft beers as well as the cocktails that helped the Hop and Anchor make a name for itself during its short-lived initial opening.
The bar will also serve burgers, wings and other bar meals.
One of the main attractions at BrewDog’s Hop and Anchor is the interior. The building previously housed Musa restaurant, which doubled as an art gallery and live music venue.
Musa closed in 2018.
The Hop and Anchor is at 33 Exchange Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6PH. Opening hours are 12pm to 1am on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and from 12pm to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.
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