Two awards ‘fantastic’ for Horsham’s Hepworth brewery

Andy Hepworth, managing director of Hepworth and Co Brewers, based in Horsham’s Nightingale Road, was presented his Southern Business Award and Business Matters Award this week, and praised the effort made put in by every member of the 25-strong workforce.

He said: “It’s fantastic, it’s lovely to be recognised as doing a good job as we put back into the community as much as we gain from it.

“It’s nice to grow the company and be successful and hopefully you will see much more news from us in the future.”

Hepworth’s success has seen it bottle and develop beers for other companies, including Marks and Spencer, alongside its own traditionally-brewed beers.

Andy added: “This puts us in a strong position in difficult times, particularly as we have been very much a local brewer, and it’s good to get local support.”

He said due to the locality they had been lucky to be able to bid to supply the Brighton Dome against international brewers.

He explained: “To have that opportunity for a small company is wonderful and that’s what being local does.”

He said Sussex remained a great place to buy hops and barley, with great ingredients being vital to crafting a first-class beer.

Andy added: “The key is that our people are very very good all the way through. We train our own guys and we value experience, training and loyalty.”