REAL ale producers in Wensleydale reckon their latest brew packs a bit of a punch and could drive their tiny brewery into the spotlight after dubbing it Hop Gear Fracas.

Paul Gehrman, 24, and Geoff Southgate, 25, owners of the Wensleydale Brewery in Bellerby, near Leyburn, have named their new cask special after the Top Gear incident which brought the Dale so recently to the attention of the international media.

There is still a big debate on just exactly what happened on the fateful night at Simonstone Hall, near Hawes, when Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson is said to have attacked producer Oisin Tymon.

It was reported that Mr Clarkson lost his temper after a long day's filming. Her returned to the hotel to find the chef had gone home and he was offered a cold meat platter, rather than the hot steak he had ordered.

Mr Oisin was left with a bleeding lip and after an investigation by the BBC, Mr Clarkson's contract has not been renewed. North Yorkshire Police investigated the assault but said Mr Tymon’s solicitor said he did not want to press charges.

Either way the Wensleydale brewery reckons their “fracas”, which is 3.5 per cent proof, could be a real hit.

Mr Gehrman and Mr Southgate, are believed to be the youngest brewers in the country after taking over the brewery after starting in the business from school.

Launching the ale on Facebook, Mr Southgate said: "So you don't have to be car mad or from the Dales to have heard about an incident involving a fan favourite TV Presenter, whilst filming in the area, meanwhile......we were putting the finishing touches to our Easter special so we thought we'd mark the end of an era by naming it after it."

He told The Northern Echo: "It has all been a laugh because it was such a huge thing in the Dales and we're fans of Top Gear, we wanted to approach it with a bit of humour.

"Normally when we put our specials on Facebook, we get 20 or 30 hits, with this we've had 200 so it has been big.

"I'm not sure whether we would send it to Jeremy Clarkson. We don't want to cause another fracas."

Helpful responses on Facebook suggested it could have been called “uppercut” or “knockout”

Meanwhile Simonstone Hall said they did not want to comment on the new beer, although it’s understood that they have asked for a taster.