Jeremy Clarkson's partner Lisa Hogan has warned that Britain faces a potential beer shortage after a summer of heatwaves severely damaged the country's barley harvest, threatening both the quantity and quality of beer produced. Ms Hogan, who runs Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire with Clarkson, said suppliers may struggle to meet demand and warned that higher prices could follow, as poor harvests limit the option of importing grain from countries such as Poland to make up the shortfall.

Barley, of which around 1.7 million tons is used annually by Britain's brewing, malting and distilling industries, is essential for making malt. UK harvest figures from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit show total yields fell to one of the lowest on record, just over 19 million tons compared with almost 26 million in 2022, with figures 19% below the five-year average. The warning comes as Clarkson and Hogan's Hawkstone beer brand continues to grow, recording £44.9 million in sales in the year to March and expanding into supermarkets and around 4,000 pubs, while the pair also cited water shortages at their farm and welcomed government plans to boost reservoir building.