Where Is Hawkstone Brewed, and Does It Use Clarkson’s Barley?
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Some Hawkstone lager is contract-brewed at Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow, the home of Tennent’s. C&C says it doesn’t own Hawkstone or its products. Hawkstone says it controls its recipes and uses 100% British barley, including Diddly Squat barley when it’s available and suitable for malting. That isn’t a guarantee that every pint contains barley grown by Jeremy Clarkson.
That’s the short answer. The fuller explanation is considerably more interesting than “it’s just Tennent’s in a different bottle”.
Watch the full Hawkstone investigation
Live on Thursday 3rd September 2026 at 6pm GMT
I contacted Hawkstone and C&C directly because I wanted to check the claims being thrown around online. I like the idea of a growing beer business supporting British farmers. That doesn’t mean I’m going to answer questions on its behalf.
Supporting a brewery and asking it to explain itself aren’t mutually exclusive activities. You can manage both without spilling your pint.
Here’s what the companies told me, what Jeremy had already said publicly, and what those answers mean for customers.
Where is Hawkstone lager brewed?
C&C Group confirmed to me that it brews Hawkstone Premium and Session lagers under contract at Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow. Wellpark is also the home of Tennent’s.
In his response on 27 August 2026, Hawkstone’s managing director, Owen Jenkins, said Wellpark had been a contract-brewing partner for more than three years. He explained that Hawkstone had outgrown what its Cotswolds brewery could produce.
So the Glasgow connection is real. It isn’t a discovery that automatically proves the rest of the rumours.
Contract brewing means another brewery makes beer for a brand under an agreed arrangement.
Making somebody’s beer and owning their business are different things. Hiring a kitchen doesn’t mean you’ve sold your restaurant to the bloke who owns the oven.
Is Hawkstone owned by Tennent’s or C&C?
C&C’s answer to that was clear:
“We don’t own Hawkstone or any of its products.”
Owen also said C&C has no ownership stake in Hawkstone.
That addresses the particular ownership claim behind this investigation. A production arrangement at Wellpark isn’t evidence that C&C has bought Hawkstone.
Is Hawkstone just Tennent’s lager in different packaging?
Sharing a brewery doesn’t establish that two beers are the same product.
Owen told me Hawkstone retains ownership and control of its brand, recipes and product specifications, with quality controls in place. He described Hawkstone’s brewers directing adjustments to maintain the beer’s taste.
That explanation doesn’t support the claim that somebody’s simply putting Tennent’s lager into Hawkstone packaging.
There’s an important limit here, though. I haven’t independently inspected the production specifications or conducted a blind comparison of verified batches from both breweries. I’m reporting the companies’ explanations, not claiming laboratory proof or identical taste from my own testing.
Does Hawkstone use Jeremy Clarkson’s barley?
According to Owen, Hawkstone uses Diddly Squat barley “when available and at malting quality”.
He explained that the business has grown beyond what Jeremy can supply and also sources barley from other farms across Britain, including England, Scotland and Wales. Its stated commitment is to 100% British barley.
Those details matter. “British barley” and “barley from Jeremy Clarkson’s farm” aren’t interchangeable descriptions.
Does the explanation guarantee that Jeremy grew the barley in every pint? No.
Does it mean Hawkstone has stopped using his barley? No. That would be getting it wrong in the opposite direction.
The position Hawkstone gave me is that Diddly Squat barley is used when it’s available and suitable, alongside supplies from other British farms. It doesn’t establish the farm provenance of an individual bottle or can.
Personally, I think more British farmers supplying a growing British beer business is worth supporting. A farmer in Wales doesn’t become less worth supporting because Amazon hasn’t filmed him arguing with a tractor.
But I also understand the question. Jeremy’s farming story is a big part of what brought people to Hawkstone. Being clear about what customers can expect helps everyone.
What had Jeremy Clarkson already said publicly?
Owen directed me to an earlier public Instagram video in which Jeremy explained that Hawkstone’s popularity had outgrown his ability to supply enough spring barley on his own.
Jeremy said they were asking other farmers to supply barley and described that as a positive development for British farming.
When asked about brewing capacity, he explained that their brewer, Rick, had found another brewery with bigger tanks and vats. He named Wellpark.
He also mentioned that its boss drove an Alfa Romeo 4C. Which is possibly the most Jeremy Clarkson way of explaining a production partnership. Most people would ask about quality control. Jeremy wants to inspect the car park.
I’m not going to pretend my emails uncovered something Jeremy had already said on camera.
The purpose of contacting the companies was to get a fuller explanation of what the arrangement means for the beer customers are buying.
Is the recipe identical at both breweries?
Hawkstone’s answer was more nuanced than “every ingredient and every brewing step is identical”.
Owen explained that its brewers make adjustments for different water sources, brewing processes and seasonal or annual variation in barley and hops. The stated priority is consistent taste.
That distinction is worth preserving. Hawkstone says it controls the recipes and specifications and manages the adjustments. It hasn’t given me grounds to claim that every process at each site is identical.
Recipe control and process uniformity are different questions. I asked for clarification, so I’m not going to turn the answer into a stronger claim than the one I received.
Can the batch code tell you where your Hawkstone was brewed?
I specifically asked whether customers could use packaging or batch codes to identify the brewery behind their beer.
In his reply on 1 September 2026, Owen said the batch code wasn’t designed to do that.
That’s a limitation on what customers can establish from the code. It doesn’t mean Hawkstone can’t trace its own batches internally, and it isn’t evidence of something sinister.
It does mean I can’t give you a reliable decoding guide that identifies whether your particular beer came from Wellpark or the Cotswolds brewery.
Will Hawkstone explain this on its website?
During our correspondence, Owen told me on 1 September that Hawkstone aimed to publish a more consumer-friendly version of its explanation on its website.
That was something he volunteered during the exchange. I welcome it. If my questions have helped encourage clearer information for customers, that’s a worthwhile outcome. The timing alone doesn’t prove that my enquiry caused the decision.
This article records what he told me on that date. His intention to publish an explanation isn’t confirmation that it has subsequently appeared.
My verdict: back British farming, and keep asking questions
The answers give us a considerably different story from “it’s just Tennent’s with a celebrity price tag”.
Some Hawkstone lager is contract-brewed at Wellpark. C&C says it doesn’t own Hawkstone or its products. Hawkstone says it controls its recipes and uses British barley, including Jeremy’s when it’s available and suitable.
Jeremy had also already publicly explained why other farmers and another brewery were involved.
None of that requires customers to stop caring about provenance. Supporting British farmers and asking where your ingredients come from can sit quite comfortably at the same table.
My thanks to Owen at Hawkstone and C&C for answering my questions. Clear explanations are more useful than another comment that’s absolutely certain and completely wrong.
Does 100% British barley tick the box for you, or were you expecting barley specifically from Diddly Squat? And if you enjoy the beer, how much does the brewing location matter?
Tell me in the comments. Just remember, Glasgow isn’t overseas unless your satnav’s absolutely fucked.
Hopper out!
Sources and reporting notes
Direct correspondence with Hawkstone managing director Owen Jenkins, 27 August and 1 September 2026. Short extracts are quoted, with the remainder paraphrased. His complete emails aren't reproduced.
Attributable C&C Group statement supplied in response to my enquiry about Hawkstone production at Wellpark.
Jeremy Clarkson’s earlier public Instagram video, linked by Owen. Its original publication date hasn't been independently verified for this article.
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