Jeremy Clarkson has opened up about the "worrying" prospect his beer brand Hawkstone currently faces following new research regarding youngsters' drinking habits.
Referring to statistics which show a third of people between 18-25 refuse to drink alcohol, Clarkson has revealed he's had to adjust his way of thinking if he wants to make his lager business a profitable enterprise.
Clarkson has put the shift in youngsters' approach to alcohol down to a number of factors, including its depiction in modern-day TV and film, as well as social media.
Clarkson branded today's twentysomethings on social media as "relentless" with sites flooded with wellness accounts and a focus on health rather than partying or enjoying alcohol.
"One of the reasons the Italians don’t drink very much is that they consider losing control to be ugly," Clarkson mused. "And I think there’s some of that going on with today’s twentysomethings."
He explained: "You need to be sharp and in control of your faculties when you’re permanently in a social minefield.
Jeremy Clarkson shares fears over the future of Hawkstone lager
GETTY
"One wrong pronoun or the slightest whiff of cultural appropriation and you’re in the waste basket with JK Rowling.
"So it’s now cool to be healthy and mentally sharp, and that’s a good thing, I suppose. But, speaking as someone who owns a brewery, I also find it a bit worrying," Clarkson admitted.
As a result, Clarkson has taken the drastic step to try and brew alcohol-free beer in order to ensure Hawkstone is profitable.
He surmised in his Sunday Times column: "It means that if my Hawkstone brewery wants to remain in rude health, we need to stop developing beers that can blow your head clean off and stick our foot in the low-alcohol lake."
Clarkson admitted "it's not easy" for him to develop such a foray into the non-alcohol market as he joked: "Our brewer is now locked away in a cellar with his pipettes and his special yeast, and he’s been told he can’t come out till he’s solved the problem."
The Grand Tour star has not only been vocal with the profit-making challenges he faces with Hawkstone but also with Diddly Squat as a whole.
The presenter-turned-farmer, thanks to Amazon's Clarkson's Farm, has highlighted just how volatile the money-making landscape for farmers can be - with the former Top Gear star making just £144 in profit after his debut year as a farmer.
In his new book, Clarkson almost admitted to taking a "last roll of the dice" in order to generate income at Diddly Squat following the introduction of a farm shop and a short-lived restaurant.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- 'He's in a position of STRENGTH' Eamonn Holmes slaps down Hancock comparisons as he backs Farage for I'm A Celeb glory
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy breaks silence on 'heartbreaking' Strictly exit after being 'robbed' in dance-off
- 'I'll cancel everything!' Denise Welch shares wedding hopes for son Matty Healy after being 'hurt' by absence at her big day - EXCLUSIVE
Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper have kept Diddly Squat afloat
AMAZONIt's clear Clarkson wants to keep Diddly Squat running, none least because Amazon has already reportedly eyed up a fourth season of Clarkson's Farm - something Lisa Hogan did little to quash with a series of cyrptic social media posts.
However, he has been vocal about the "heartbreaking" prospect that he may have to sell his Chipping Norton farm due to its failure to reap the profits he'd desired.
One person he definitely won't be handing the reins over to, however, is righthand man and young farmer Kaleb Cooper.
The Clarkson's Farm star addressed the possibility of taking over Diddly Squat recently should Clarkson decide to pack the project in.