By Deirdre Huston

Matt McGuire and Ben McCully have known each other for about 15 years. Around 2008 to 2010, they used to be in a band together when they lived in Brighton. “It was very non-serious. We were messing about. We only did three gigs and then we split up and went in different musical directions,” recalls Ben.

And it wasn’t just music that was changing in their lives. Ben’s wife, Lucy, was teaching in Brighton and the couple were living in a two-bedroom flat at Seven Dials. “We had an eighteen-month-old daughter. We needed more space. On a whim, we came out to see Hassocks: the schools are good, there’s a train station, Brighton’s only ten minutes away. We didn’t know anybody, but we moved in and we’re still here! One by one, our mates followed.” Ben has seen some changes in the village: “the demographic has definitely changed. There are quite a few young people around in Hassocks which is great because it has injected an energy into the place.” After one of their gigs, Matt had met his wife, Sarah, and they also moved to Hassocks where they appreciated the peace and quiet and being able to hear the birds in the morning. Today, Ben’s daughter, Orla, has just started at Downlands while Matt has two children, Bob, at the Infants and Olive, at Windmills.

Ben works in Shoreham as an engineer for Ricardo, an engineering consultancy. He explains, “it’s predominantly been about engines of all sizes, from the small 2-stroke scooter engines to a huge power generation engine, but now some are moving electric which is interesting. The brewery is a nice diversion from my day job because it’s very different. It’s nice to do something creative. My job is quite high-pressure so it’s nice to step outside of that.”
“And I’m a freelance copywriter and full-time Dad,” adds Matt. “My wife’s a GP so I do a lot of our day-to-day childcare.”

Read more inside November’s Hassocks Life magazine to find out how the pair got into brewing and where the name Silver Rocket came from.