Jeremy Clarkson is offering fans free beer at his brewery.

The broadcaster-turned-farmer has been offering members of the public free beer since Saturday.

The Cotswold Brewing Company, home to his best-selling Hawkstone Lager, is in the process of developing a new 4% Session lager.

Ahead of the launch, scheduled for Spring, Mr Clarkson and Hawkstone are on the lookout for beer lovers who are willing to participate in the recipe testing this week.

Members of the public will be treated to free samples of the two front-running recipes for Session, as well as a free half pint of the number-one bestselling Hawkstone Premium 4.8% lager.

This Session lager will have all the great taste of Hawkstone, but lighter, and will also use Clarkson’s own barley from Diddly Squat farm.

The move comes amid a turbulent few weeks for Mr Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop, which was forced to close.

A West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) planning sub-committee declined his plan for a new 60-seat café or restaurant and 70-space car park in a former lambing shed at the Diddly Squat Farm site in Chadlington, near Chipping Norton.

Planning officers said the proposal was out of keeping with the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Mr Clarkson said it would enhance farming and tourism in the area and the refusal meant a "very bad day for farming".

He said: “The Hawkstone master brewers have been working tirelessly on the new Session lager but we’ve reached a bit of a deadlock with these two recipes. We’re calling on all beer lovers to come down to the brewery and help us decide which goes into production.”

Diddly Squat Farm yields malting barley of unusually high quality – ideal for brewing - so Mr Clarkson set out to supply it directly to a local brewery to turn into lager.

He was introduced to Rick and Emma Keene from the Cotswold Brewery by the landlord at his local - and they hit it off immediately and together.

The Clarkson’s Farm star, 61, saw his new beer become the UK’s number one selling beer on Amazon just eight hours after it was launched, outselling well-known brands like Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois.

His Hawkstone Lager is named after the Neolithic standing stone near his farm.

The bar will be open seven days a week, starting Saturday January 15, from 11am-6pm. Taste-test participants are required to arrive before 4pm for their free beer.

Address: College Farm, Stow Road, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, GL54 2HN

Hawkstone Lager can be bought from Amazon.co.uk, www.Hawkstone.co, as well as the Diddly Squat Farm Shop and website, for immediate shipping.