James May has revealed that his Wiltshire local, the Royal Oak, is now in profit - but it won’t be pouring Jeremy Clarkson’s beer anytime soon.
The TV presenter, 62, gave an update during an appearance on The Chris Moyles Show on Tuesday, saying the venture can now “wipe its own face” while relying on local produce.
“It has become profitable,” the Bristol-born publican confirmed. “The margins are small, but the pub can survive. I think the expression in business is ‘wipe its own face.’”
May explained that he and a friend decided to buy the Royal Oak, located just off the A30 between Shaftesbury and Salisbury, after it faced possible redevelopment. “It was a selfless act of charity on my part,” he joked. “I did worry that life in the countryside would be meaningless if there wasn’t a pub within walking distance, which there wouldn’t be. So, we bought it and then we shut it immediately because of COVID.”
Asked by Moyles whether the pub sells Clarkson’s booze, May replied: “No. It sells, as far as possible, local produce.”
Clarkson’s Hawkstone Lager, brewed using barley from his Diddly Squat Farm, has become a staple in pubs across the Cotswolds, though it isn’t among the Royal Oak’s offerings.
The Royal Oak was purchased during the pandemic when May feared losing his local watering hole to redevelopment. Its reopening marked another unexpected chapter in his varied career, which has seen him move from motoring programmes to food, drink and travel.
Since their years working together, May and Clarkson have followed very different paths. May, nicknamed “Captain Slow” by his former co-star, has fronted travel documentaries including Our Man In…, exploring countries such as Japan, Italy and India.
Clarkson, meanwhile, has traded fast cars for farming, launching his successful Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm and his own beer brand.
The pair have often traded friendly jabs about each other’s ventures: May once described Clarkson’s lager as “for people who think Stella is too posh,” while Clarkson fired back by calling May’s craft IPA “pretentious dishwater.”
Their tongue-in-cheek rivalry continues to delight fans, and while Clarkson’s lager isn’t on the taps, May’s pub seems to be doing just fine without it.
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player
