(Courtesy BrewDog)

BrewDog’s James Watt, who founded the now global craft brewery along with Martin Dickie, is an outspoken man…And he recently appeared on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast and made the startling disclosure, that he along with his doctor, was exploring whether he might have ‘“light-level autism.”

We’ve not met Watt in-person, but Sophie Atherton, who covered the UK craft beer scene for us in 2016, has. And she was the first person to suggest to us that the controversial BrewDog CEO might be a bit autistic.

In his interview with Stephen Bartlett, Watt admitted he pushed people “too far” in recent workplace situations where he was called out for inappropriate behavior towards women, bullying tactics and an alleged abuse of power.

BrewDog co-Founder James Watt

On the podcast, Watt said: “I think I might have some kind of light-level autism in the mix that would explain some of the social cue thing, some of the mindset thing, and some of the awkwardness as well. So I’m working with a specialist at the moment to see if there’s a diagnosis there or not.”

Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.

Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.

On January 24 , BBC Disclosure (think 60 Minutes but with a British accent) debuted a documentary entitled The Truth About BrewDog, which as the title hints at, was a less than flattering portrait of the Scotland-headquartered and now global craft brewer.

That documentary accused Watt of “inappropriate behavior towards female staff and abuse of power in the workplace,” charges he continues to refute.

But his suggestion that ‘“light-level autism” might be responsible for his social missteps in the past was met with skepticism by some.

Yeastie Boys co-founder Stu McKinlay said: “I’m not a psychologist/psychiatrist but I’ve spent a lot of time with them, and reading in that space, given I have three neurodiverse children. This fella displays more attributes of an antisocial personality disorder than any neurodiversity.”

Others tweeted that Watt’s suggestion that autism might be behind his past behavior was simply a deflection of responsibility on his part.

And, as Raw Milk podcaster Callum James reaffirmed that position: “Autism does not make one a bully or a sex pest regardless.”

According to the Drinks Business, “Bullying and inequality is taken very seriously in the beer industry, which has, historically, been a male-dominated arena and held to account for sexist and misogynistic attitudes.”

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