What you need to know about Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager
Jeremy Clarkson is best known as the straight talking journalist and broadcaster who made his name on motoring programmes Top Gear and The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May. An acerbic writer, he also has weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. In more recent years has attempted to run a farm in the Cotswolds, amusingly named Diddly Squat Farm, with his trials and tribulations documented in a series on Amazon Prime. Having launched his lager, Hawkstone, in 2021, here we look at how he went from motoring to malt extract.
Jeremy Clarkson's journey into the world of lager
Jeremy Clarkson's farm antics have become famous thanks to his Amazon Prime TV series, which, amongst other things, seeks to show (some) of the realities of farming in the 21st century. Citing a lowering of government farm subsidies, in 2021 he decided to make a lager beer using barley grown on his farm - a journey he began in collaboration with Rick & Emma from the Cotswold Brew Co.
The lager is named for the famous Hawk Stone, a neolithic standing stone just north of the hamlet of Dean, not far from Clarkson's farm. The stone is hewn from the mineral-rich bedrock of the Cotswold Hills and was hauled across the landscape to the place where it has now stood for generations as a symbol of perseverance and permanence. Perhaps citing the meticulousness with which its eponymous lager has been made, the name is an ode to the region and heritage processes. It is perhaps a more poetic choice than Clarkson's original suggestion. He told the Evening Standard: "I wanted to call it Lager McLagerface."
The lager has been a best-seller since it hit the shelves, both amongst those who typically love and are not so fussed by lager as a drink.
What the reviews say about Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager
"The moment the tipple touched my tongue I was sold on it. It was light and fruity with a deliciously bitter aftertaste, and incredible quality for the price point." - Oxfordshire Live
"Hawkstone has layers of flavour and a real depth. It’s grassy, malty, slightly citrussy - all the complex characteristics you would expect from a prize-winning real ale rather than a lager. In fact, it may well be the lager that converts stick-in-the-mud real ale drinkers like myself." - Bristol Live
Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager
The original Hawkstone Lager. Bold, yet balanced, with a smooth body and top notes of light citrus complemented by a subtle, crisp bitterness and malty backbone. Setting the standard for a British Premium Lager. 4.8% ABV.
Shop Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager
Reviews:
'I tried Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager and now I won't order anything else' -
Oxfordshire Live