Business is brewing nicely for four men determined to carry on a Sussex town's beer making traditions

The quartet is making use of expertise gained at the old King & Barnes brewery in Horsham by turning a disused railway shed into a microbrewery.

The four were made redundant when King and Barnes closed in the summer of 2000.

With the help of friends and sympathetic bank managers they raised £500,000 to start their brewery and bottling plant just under a year ago.

Now The Beer Station is taking specialised beer and lager orders from all over the world as well as bottling contracts.

Andy Hepworth, 47, former head brewer at King & Barnes, is delighted that the gamble he took to stay in the brewery business is beginning to pay off.

He was joined by Paul Webb, who worked alongside him for 20 years; John Tewson, former chief engineer at King & Barnes; and Tim Goacher, the former bottling manager.

They bought some equipment from King & Barnes before their shed was ready and stored some items in a field.

Andy said: "We were all shocked when our jobs ended at King & Barnes.

"But brewing was our life and in our blood. We wanted to ensure brewing and bottling continued in Horsham and we thought we could do things better than King & Barnes.

"It has meant sometimes working into the early hours of the morning to get an order through.

"Working in a brewery keeps you fit.

"When you have to lift everything yourself it keeps you in trim.

"We have to watch over everyone here because if one of us four injures himself that hits production.

"But we are determined to succeed and keep Horsham on the brewing map."

The Beer Station's first beer, Pullman, has a distinctive hoppy flavour and is selling well at local off-licences.

The rail theme will continue with the next bottled brew, The Iron Horse, which will arrive at off-licences in a few weeks' time.

Horsham MP Francis Maude set The Iron Horse on its journey by mashing the first brew and paying tribute to the brewery which is gaining a national and an international reputation.

The Beer Station four are thinking of more rail-associated names for bottled beers, including Couplings, which could sell well on Valentine's Day, Sidings and First Class.

However, they have rejected the names Bogie Beer and Railtrack Brew.

The railway shed was once a base for trains which sprayed the tracks with weed-killing chemicals and came complete with a platform and the use of two sidings.

It has now been renovated and equipped with some some of the most up-to-date brewing, bottling and labelling equipment.