A Witney brewery has developed an organic beer fit for a prince.

The Wychwood Brewery has been chosen to brew beer for Prince Charles' company, Duchy Originals, which donates its profits to the Prince's various charities.

A spokesman for Wychwood, Rupert Ponsonby, said: "The Prince of Wales was interested in producing a beer as part of his The Pub is the Hub campaign to put beer drinking and pubs back at the centre of communities.

"The idea also fits in well with his organic farming at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, where barley for the beer is produced."

The beer is made with a barley called Plumage Archer, which was bred in the 1940s specially for malting. The hops are a new dwarf variety, called First Gold, grown on the Worcestershire and Herefordshire border.

Wychwood Brewery, which employs 25 people in Witney, has so far brewed 250 barrels of the new beer.

Mr Ponsonby said that it was still uncertain how much would be brewed in the future.

Head brewer Jeremy Moss said: "This beer is very much part of the movement in Britain towards bottled beers which show real flavour and style."

The new Duchy Originals Organic Ale, which has a recommended retail price of £1.79 for a 500ml bottle, has gone on sale in supermarkets.

Wychwood Brewery is owned by beer company Refresh, which has also taken over the brewing of Brakspear's beers that, until earlier this year, were brewed in Henley.

Mr Ponsonby said two sites for a new Brakspear brewery had been earmarked in south Oxfordshire, but neither could be revealed yet, as talks were continuing with planners.