Jeremy Clarkson has openly admitted that he often finds himself out of his depth when participating in business meetings related to his farm-based lager company. The 65-year-old Clarkson’s Farm star, who sits on the board of Hawkstone Lager, confessed, “I don’t know what I’m talking about” when surrounded by seasoned business professionals.
Hawkstone Lager, which brews lager from barley grown on Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm, has expanded to serve many other British farmers. Writing in the Sunday Times, Jeremy explained that running the company requires expertise he sometimes lacks. “As the biggest shareholder, I sit on the board of Hawkstone, which turns my barley into lager,” he said. “It’s become quite successful but when I’m at board meetings, I understand about one word in 17.”
The company, founded in 2021 and brewed by Hawkstone Brewery near Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, made a significant milestone last year when Waitrose became the first British supermarket to stock Hawkstone Lager.
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Despite his key stake, Clarkson admits the business jargon often confuses him. He described moments of sudden excitement in meetings that leave him baffled and struggles to grasp product decisions. “We started with a beer that everyone liked, then brought out others, including a stout,” he said. “Sometimes I’d ask why we were doing this, as it seemed like we were competing with ourselves.”
Clarkson’s candid remarks come as his farm faces new challenges due to climate change. The increasingly hot and dry weather is affecting crop growth. He noted in the Times, “In March Diddly Squat had no rain at all. In April we got 20mm, which is very little, and in May just 4mm. It’s been drier than 1976. Although we have about thirty springs, they’re all in the wrong place, leaving my onions and beetroots struggling in the dust.”
These observations preceded another wave of high temperatures exceeding 30C across the UK, highlighting ongoing difficulties for farmers like Clarkson.