The West Sussex operation, which is celebrating its 25th year in business this year, was described by its chairman and founder as “unusual” as it remains privately-owned.
“This means that we can’t raise funds particularly easily, so we are used to work with very little funds,” he said.
“Then you have to adapt to the times so we have a very traditional outlook.”
The bottled beer brewery, which sells its owns beers including Sussex Pale Ale (3.5%) and Iron Horse Pale Ale (4.8%), also brews on behalf of other breweries including Crafty Brewery-owned Ridgeway Brewery. It is also an accredited supplier for Marks & Spencer, has Organic status and produces a range of beers including gluten-free and vegan-free.
Hepworth said it is a challenging time for breweries and admits it is one of the worst times he has seen in the industry.
Pubs in a worse position
“I’ve been brewing for 50 years and I’ve lived through three other recessions. This one is possibly the longest and most difficult one,” he said.
“Everything is going up and it has to be passed on and that is affecting sales. We all know that. There are many breweries out there not making money and haven’t been making money for two or three years. That at some point is going to change.
“There may be fewer breweries around in three years-time, which is sad. But I think pubs are actually in a worse position than we are as we can at least sell in supermarkets.”
He said many brewers were in “survival mode” with challenges coming from “all angles” which seems to be “beyond our control.”
He said: “If we make £1 profit this year, I will go outside and do a dance.”
Optimistic outlook
But he added: “In business, you’ve got to be an optimist and say can get past this.”
Hepworth was positive about the future of Hepworth Brewery. It is a diverse business with contract brewing and no customers that compete with each other.
It opened a new brewery in 2016, where it has embraced industry leading energy-efficient processes and advanced recycling techniques.
As well as being a sustainable brewery, it also means the company owns its own infrastructure.
“When we built our new brewery, we bought the site so we’re not paying rent to pay a mortgage effectively. One of the best things we did was to actually own our own premises. That’s given us an asset which we can borrow against. We made some good decisions along the way and we are used to working with not a lot of money,” he said.
The company has always been focused on sourcing local. It buys its barley from Sussex and personally knows the farmers.
He issued a piece of advice to other brewers to not sell beer at less than it takes to make.
“Be very careful to not you go for every sale, know when to walk away from a deal,” he added.
