The TV presenter turned farmer and publican held a ‘summer party’ at his pub, the Farmer’s Dog in Burford, on Monday 14 July to show his gratitude to those that have supported the brewery since it launched in 2021.
Speaking at the event Clarkson, who opened the pub last year, said: “We’re trying to back British farming and that’s why we want to thank all of you who are selling so much Hawkstone, because you are backing British farming.”
Clarkson also announced the brewery’s ‘Centurion Club’, which honours pubs selling the most Hawkstone beers.
In addition, the ex-Top Gear host revealed Hawkstone had produced its first TV commercial but that the advert had been “banned” as it did not meet advertising standards.
High standards
“[Hawkstone] is going from strength to strength at the moment. So much so that we decided a few months ago we should make a TV commercial, which we could show in the middle of something like ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’, so even in the ad breaks you wouldn’t be deprived of me. Sadly, after great expense and difficulty to make it, it’s been banned.
“Nobody will show it, we’re told by the Advertising Standards Authority, because it doesn’t meet their high standards”, he said.
The advert features Clarkson drinking a Hawkstone beer and exclaiming ‘it’s f*****g good’, alongside the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, which is made up of real British farmers, singing using expletive language to the music of Flower Duet.
Undeterred, Clarkson showed the commercial to those in attendance, sharing hopes that it would instead become a “social media sensation”.
In addition, using AI, the choirs’ songs that feature in the advert can be personalised for individual pubs.
Clarkson explained: “Because we live in the modern age where there is electronic sorcery known as AI, we have been able to use technology beyond anything you can imagine to take the choir’s songs so they can be tailored to your own pub, so the actual lyrics they sing are about your pub and then you can have that on your website and social media accounts and so on.”
The Cosy Club in Bristol was the first venue to use the technology, with a parody of the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful, changing the lyrics to ‘all pints bright and beautiful’.
Pixie dust
In addition, Hawkstone also exclusively announced the off-trade launch of a new rhubarb cider called Rhubastard, made in partnership with Cotswold based artisan cider makers Dunkerton’s.
The brewery said it hoped to bring the cider to the on-trade in keg format next year. It joins the existing Hawkstone portfolio including IPA, Session Lager, and Hedgerow fruit cider.
Following the launch, The Morning Advertiser (The MA) spoke to Nigel, who manages the brewery tours, about Hawkstone’s mission to endorse British production and the challenges of using only British produce: “There are always plans for the next beer or cider.
“[But] we have to worry about the climate as well as the cost. The harvest this year will be tough, the blackberries on the hedgerows haven’t got the lustre they should have and the apples won’t be as juicy.”
Nigel added Hawkstone, which was originally launched by Clarkson and the Cotswold Beer Co., beer and cider is currently stocked in around 3,000 pubs across the UK.
He continued: “The product is growing, not only because of Jeremy’s pixie dust but also because it is really good.
“We make the beer using only the four ingredients that beer should have: water, malted barley and hops and yeast. There are no additives, forced carbonation or pasteurisation, like our cider.”
