BrewDog co-founder James Watt has criticised the "total silence" that has greeted his latest venture, a soft drink designed to prevent hangovers.

The craft beer tycoon took to LinkedIn to voice his frustration: "Normally, if I cough loudly, three journalists file copy about it. Yesterday we did a world first and the press said nothing."

"Not a peep. Total silence," he added.

The muted reception marks an abrupt reversal for a founder who spent nearly two decades generating headlines, building BrewDog's profile through attention-grabbing stunts such as the 55 per cent "End of History" beer sold in taxidermied squirrels and campaigns taunting the mainstream beer establishment.

The launch is one of several projects Watt has pursued since he failed to prevent BrewDog being sold to US cannabis firm Tilray, in a deal that caused the closure of dozens of the brewer's UK pubs. The Nasdaq-listed American company, which had bulked up its US craft beer portfolio by buying eight beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2023, bought the beer firm Watt founded for just £33m in March – a fraction of the £2bn valuation it notched in 2020.

Watt later revealed he had sought to block Tilray's takeover with a bid of his own, which he claimed would have saved hundreds of jobs and reinstated the Real Living Wage. In July, the Scottish businessman offered to buy BrewDog back from Tilray, but the US firm brushed off the proposal and Watt has not mentioned it since.

Watt courts the 'equity punks'

In the months since the sale, Watt has sought to regain the confidence of the thousands of "equity punks" whose investments helped BrewDog dominate the UK beer market. BrewDog raised tens of millions of pounds through its Equity for Punks crowdfunding scheme, which began in 2009 and became one of the UK's most high-profile examples of small-investor crowdfunding. Those amateur investors missed out on any return from the Tilray sale, and Watt has offered the equity holders free shares in his new beer firm, named Second Best.

His latest venture, Fool's Fix, also includes free stakes for former equity punks who have claimed their shares in Second Best.

Watt is further offering a 10 per cent stake in the soft drink brand to its first 20,000 customers, in what he claims is "an experiment in building a company completely differently".

"If you buy Fool's Fix from our website you have the opportunity to claim 100 Founding Shares and become a co-owner of this brand-new business. For free," Watt said.

"Hopefully, together, we can create a new template for launching consumer businesses and build Fool's Fix into a leading global recovery brand."

Watt founded BrewDog in 2007 alongside school friend Martin Dickie. The brand, which created beers including Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, kickstarted the UK's craft beer craze.

Both co-founders stepped away from the company ahead of its sale following allegations – fiercely denied by the founders – of a toxic workplace and a "cult of personality" around Watt.

BrewDog chief executive James Taylor quit the company last month after little more than a year in the role. Tilray is not set to replace him.

Watt did not respond to a request for comment.