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Weeping Radish celebrates 25 years of the North Carolina Micro Brewing Industry
The Weeping Radish Farm Brewery, North Carolina’s oldest microbrewery, is pleased to announce the release of its newest beer: IPA 25! In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Weeping Radish and NC’s micro brewing industry, head brewer Nick Williams has created a unique India Pale Ale infused with North Carolina hops. Extending the Weeping Radish’s “Farmer to Fork” principal to the brewery, the hops are grown on Echoview Farm in Weaverville, NC. “We’ve waited a long time for the opportunity to use local hops,” says Weeping Radish owner Uli Bennewitz. “Also I believe that this is the first beer ever with the coveted “Goodness Grows in NC” logo from the Department of Agriculture on the label. And hops are just the first step. There is a group of enthusiasts, who are planning to build North Carolina’s first malting facility near Asheville. “Soon we will be able to offer a completely ‘North Carolina grown’ beer.”

Since opening its location in Grandy in 2006, the Weeping Radish Farm has focused on natural local products both in the Butcher’s facility and the restaurant. “We’ve made ‘Reinheitsgebot all-natural’ beers since 1986 and we wanted to extend this to the food we make,” Uli explained. “It’s all about shortening the food chain, keeping chemicals out and knowing where your food (and beer) comes from.” The German Master Butcher crafts sausages and charcuterie with all natural meats from small family farms which are served in the restaurant, retailed at the brewery store and sold by the producing farmers at Farmers Markets throughout North Carolina. The butchery already makes a Beer Brat with Corolla Gold beer and local hops as ingredient is being test marketed!
The Weeping Radish IPA is distributed in the Eastern part of North Carolina by R.A. Jeffreys and City Beverage.

The Radar Weekender
Abby Ellin

Blades of Glory

Foodies, rejoice! The newest travel trend is a luxurious farm-to-fork exploration of meat.

Frank Meusel stands before a glimmering steel table, a knife resting against his knee-length white coat. A 160-pound hog carcass lies in front of him. He stares down at it like a doctor about to perform an autopsy. Meusel, 53, is a master artisan butcher, and he’s logged more than three decades slicing up meats around the globe. “To me, this no verk,” he says in broken English. “It’s hobby.”

In today’s trendy world of sustainable living—which has nurtured the recent opening of several boutique butchers in Los Angeles— Meusel is like a foodie rock star. But for him, the trend is about much more than simply how we buy our meat. It’s also about how we manufacture it, produce it and get it from farm to fork. For the last few years, Meusel has been “hobbying” at the Weeping Radish, a 24-acre organic farm near The Sanderling Resort and Spa, in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. He’s also part of the Meet Your Meat program recently initiated by Weeping Radish owner Uli Bennewitz and The Sanderling’s Executive Chef Joshua Hollinger.

The Sanderling is the first luxury resort— perhaps anywhere in the world—to offer butchery classes as a vacation activity for avid foodies. “It’s an opportunity for me to get back to my roots as a chef, while giving others the chance to truly see where their meat comes from and to appreciate the process full circle,” says Hollinger, 38, who was formerly the executive chef at The Harbor View Hotel & Resort on Martha’s Vineyard. Guests of the program learn how to break down and prepare meat in daylong craft butchering workshops at Weeping Radish, followed by a family-style three-course dinner at The Sanderling’s Left Bank restaurant. (Rates, including class, lunch and dinner start at $325 per night. 1461 Duck Road, 877.650.4812, thesanderling.com)

The idea for Meet Your Meat stems from the region’s culinary philosophy rooted in Sustainable, Organic, Artisanal and Local ingredients (or S. O.A.L.). “Our mission,” says Bennewitz, 59, “is to reduce our food chain from 2,000 miles to 200 miles, and to eliminate preservatives and chemicals in the food we eat.” For guests, the allure comes from watching Meusel break down a steer, hog, lamb or veal. Though admittedly not for the squeamish (or vegetarians), it’s exhilarating to see his blade dance across the hog and slice it as effortlessly as if he’s opening an envelope. Due to safety and insurance issues, no one’s allowed to try. But the demonstration—the ease with which Meusel verks—is riveting.

“Just look at that beautiful piece of meat,” Hollinger says. He nods toward already cut piles: the back (pork loin) and shoulders (pork butt); the belly (bacon); the rump (ham). “Tenderloin,” he says, “is the money cut.” It certainly looks that way: thick and marbled, with a silver membrane that glistens in the light. Hollinger can’t wait to work his own magic on it—which he does later that night at The Left Bank, a 60-seat restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the scenic Currituck Sound. An open kitchen lets you watch Hollinger whip up dinner.

And it’s one of the best meals I’ve had in a very long time: poached tenderloin of beef with olive oil, NY strip stifado and braised pork shank. The food is just so fresh, the meat so tender; my knife practically slides right through it.

GOOD FOOD AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
-> Good Food PR print

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 15, 2010) – The Good Food Awards is proud to announce the 130 outstanding American food producers nominated to receive a Good Food Awards Winner Seal – assuring consumers they have found something exceptionally delicious that also supports

sustainability and social good. As the first awards platform to celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat – tasty, authentic, and responsible – the Good Food Awards received over 780 products from 41 states, all vying for a chance to be among the 80 winners recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by Alice Waters on January 14, 2011.

The official judging took place at Hub-SOMA, a LEED designed co-working space and art gallery, where judges blind tasted their way through America’s foodscape. Among the 80 judges, were a veritable who’s who of food industry visionaries including venerated coffee roasters Andrew Barnett (Ecco Caffe) and President of the Specialty Coffee Association of America Peter Guliano, cheesemonger Sarah Dvorak (Mission Cheese) and cheese expert Laura Werlin (The New American Cheese), chocolate icons John Scharffenberger and Alice Medrich, in addition to veteran journalist Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle, and industry leaders Nell Newman of Newman’s Own Organics and Bruce Aidells (Bruce Aidells’s Complete Book of Pork).

“The hunger to celebrate our peers who are raising the bar for craft food production was vividly apparent this last month,” said Sarah Weiner, Director of the Good Food Awards. “With hundreds more entries than we could have imagined, and dozens of judges flying in from across the country — even from Guatemala in the case of one coffee grower — we knew we had touched on something needed. We are both humbled and thrilled to be a part of an American food renaissance, and are looking forward to seeing this dynamic community grow.”

On January 14, 2011, winners will be announced at the Good Food Awards Ceremony hosted by Alice Waters at the San Francisco Ferry Building, followed by a Marketplace event on January 15, 2011 where food lovers will be able to talk shop with producers, plus taste and purchase the award-winning products.

Both events will kick off Good Food Month (January 14 – February 20, 2011), a celebration of responsibly produced, delicious food that will consist of over 500 independently organized events throughout the Bay Area – from special farm tours of local dairies and salsa tastings at Community Kitchen, to a panel discussion of gender in the chocolate industry, food crafting demos, and a special pop up general store. Event logistics (including special farmers market events free of charge) and ticket pricing for Good Food Month will be released by December 15 2010, at which-time tickets can be purchased online at www.goodfoodawards.org.

The Good Food Awards would not be possible without the support of the official Presenting Marketplace Sponsor Whole Foods, and of William Sonoma, Bi-Rite Market, Foodzie, the San Francisco Ferry Building, CUESA, and Paula Le Duc Fine Catering.

ABOUT GOOD FOOD AWARDS

The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic, and responsible. This pioneering initiative grants awards to outstanding American food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients. In its inaugural year, Good Food Awards will be given to winners in seven categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles and preserves. Awards will be given to producers and their food communities from each of five regions of the US. The Good Food Awards seal, found on winning products, assures consumers they have found something exceptionally delicious that also supports sustainability and social good. Winners are announced at an annual Awards Ceremony and Marketplace at the iconic Ferry Building in San Francisco to honor new Good Food Award recipients and also organize a month of events and tastings to support the wider community making good food. Find more information at: www.goodfoodawards.org.

ABOUT SEEDLING PROJECTS

The Good Food Awards is being organized by Seedling Projects in collaboration with a broad community of food producers, chefs, food writers and passionate food-lovers. Seedling Projects is a social enterprise L3C organization led by Sarah Weiner and Dominic Phillips, who have united their diverse skills to support the sustainable food movement. Through focused events and strategic models we engage the public in finding better ways to feed our communities. Our collaborative approach draws upon the wealth of talent and creativity of our colleagues and community organizations. Find more information at: www.seedlingprojects.org

CHARCUTERIE:
Alexian Pate – Duck Mousse With Cognac (East: Neptune, NJ)
Café Rouge – Smoked Beef Tongue (West: Berkeley, CA)
Col. Bill Newsoms Aged Hams – Col. Newsoms Free Range Aged Ham (Central: Princeton, KY)
Creminelli Fine Meats – Barolo Handcrafted Italian Salami (West: Salt Lake City, UT)
Creminelli Fine Meats – Wild Boar Handcrafted Italian Salami (West: Salt Lake City, UT)
Cypress – Cypressata (South: Charleston, SC)

Formaggio Kitchen – Pancetta (East: Cambridge, MA)
Gary West Meats – Natural Buffalo Strips (North: Jacksonville, OR)
La Quercia – La Quercia Prosciutto Green Label (Central: Norwalk, IA)
North Park Meat Co. / The Linkery – Country Ham (West: San Diego, CA)
OLLI Salumeria Americana – Culatello (East: Richmond, VA)

OLLI Salumeria Americana – Lomo (East: Richmond, VA)
Olympic Provisions – Loukanika (North: Portland, OR)
Olympic Provisions – Saucisson d’Arles (North: Portland, OR)

Olympic Provisions – Rioja Style Chorizo (North: Portland, OR)
Olympic Provisions Restaurant – Pork Liver Mousse (North: Portland, OR)
Pine Street Market – Dry Cured Coppa (South: Atlanta, GA)
S Wallace Edwards & Sons – Surryano Ham (East: Surry, VA)

Salame Beddu – Coppa Rossa (Central: St. Louis, MO)
Tender Greens – Smoked Prosciutto (West: San Diego, CA)
The Chameleon Café – Free Range Chicken Liver Pate (East: Baltimore, MD)
The Girl and the Fig – Coppa (West: Sonoma, CA)

The Girl and the Fig – Pimenton Salami (West: Sonoma, CA)
Vande Rose Farms – Applewood Smoked Artisan Cured Ham (Central: Oskaloosa, IA)
Weeping Radish Farm Brewery – Liverwurst (South: Grandy, NC)

GOOD FOOD AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED - The Weeeping Radish

FINALIST VIGNETTES

BEER (North), Pike Brewing Company (Seattle, WA), Dry Wit

Pikes Brewing Company was founded in 1989 in Seattle, Washington by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel with the philosophy of local, sustainable, and environmentally friendly beers. Pike Brewing Company strives to source organic ingredients when possible but has made the conscious choice to source local ingredients over organic ingredients when needed. Their brewing process is completely steam-powered and gravity-fed and spent grain is given to various local cattle and pig farmers as animal feed. Their pub claims to be 97% compostable and strives to purchase its food from a 100 mile radius.

CHARCUTERIE (East), S Wallace Edwards & Sons (Surry, VA), Surryano Ham

Honoring traditions dating back to the methods that Native Americans taught to the pilgrims of the Jamestown Settlement, Sam Wallace began selling country ham sandwiches from local meat on the Jamestown Ferry in the 1920s. Today they use pasture-raised Berkshire Pigs from Newman Farms in Missouri, maintaining a firm commitment to heritage hogs. Edwards and Sons is currently working with farmers in their home-state of Virginia, alongside Heritage Foods USA, to educate farmers about sustainable methods of raising and butchering pigs.

CHEESE (North), Rivers Edge Chevre (Newport, OR), Siltcoos & Mayor of Nye Beach

Patricia Morford, owner and cheesemaker of Rivers Edge Chevre, has been raising dairy goats since she was eight years old. Her goats graze freely on surrounding pastures, and are treated as part of her family, still living in family units, from great, great, great grandmas down to babies. Unlike most dairies, which breed their animals yearly to promote milk production, Rivers Edge Chevre milks their does for up to four years after breeding. This extended milking period is physically easier on the animals and allows for a manageable herd size.

CHOCOLATE (South), Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. (Nashville, TN), Southern Artisan Chocolate Sea Salt Bar

Classically trained as a French pastry chef, Scott Witherow entered the bean-to-bar and chocolatier industry by storm, opening his Southern Artisan Chocolate house, Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co., in September 2009. The beans for his Sea Salt Bar come from Conacado, a certified organic and fair trade cooperative in the Dominican Republic. He also helps out local brewer, Terrapin Brewery, by supplying cacao shells and nibs for their Milk Chocolate Stout, a partnership that demonstrates the synergy of local, small-scale producers working together.

COFFEE (Central), Madcap Coffee (Grand Rapids, MI), Los Lobos Costa Rica

In an attempt to bring transparency from seed to cup, Madcap Coffee annually visits the Los Lobos farm in Costa Rica during harvest and works with micro-mill farmers. Rather than transporting coffee to a few large centralized mills, the micro-mill movement utilizes small mills directly on farms so that farmers can produce and process their beans in a way that best highlights the product. For Ryan, buying the best quality green beans inherently emphasizes sustainability. Although the need for transparency is gaining ever more recognition, Ryan hopes that labeling and serving does not reduce coffee to a country name or blend but rather continues to tell the whole tale of all the hands involved.

PICKLES (West), Ceres Community Project (Sebastopol, CA), Arame & Ginger Sauerkraut Salad

The Ceres Community Project provides meals made from local organic vegetables to patients facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, teaches teens about preparing healthy food, and educates people about food and wellness. One example is talking to people about the connection between lacto-fermented pickles and digestive health as well as providing pickles that can be sold at an affordable price. 100% of the profits from their products come back to support the Project’s charitable work with cancer patients and the community.

PRESERVES (South), Farmer’s Daughter Brand (Carborro, NC), Bourbon’d Figs

In making her Fig Preserves, April McGregor works with mostly her own and her neighbors’ backyard fig trees. She also sources local produce from East Carolina Organics, who work to convert tobacco farms to organic vegetable farms in North Carolina. Continuing to educate people about one-batch-at-a-time jamming and the merits of handmade products is a driving force for April and Farmer’s Daughter Brand

MEDIA CONTACTS

Emily Collins
Cordial Rx
707-318-3124
email: collinseb@gmail.com
Hannah Hausauer
Seedling Projects
415-796-3713
email: hannah@seedlingprojects.org

Weeping Radish Facility Tour - Taste of the Beach 2010
Friday, March 12th- Time: 2:00pm
Sunday, March 14th- Time: 2:00pm
Price: $5 per person
Limited Availability
This is a combination Brewery Tour & Facility Tour of the entire Farmer to Fork local food concept operated by the Weeping Radish Farm Brewery. See how we have taken the issue raised in "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Food Inc." and put them into practice. You will gain a better understanding of subjects like sustainable, profitable farming, the politics of food processing health care and the re-introduction of artisan butchering in America.
Location: Weeping Radish Farm Brewery
6810 Caratoke Highway, Jarvisburg, NC 27947
Phone: 252-491-5205 -> Purchase Tickets Here

September 2, 2008
Read about the NewsObserver.com has to say about the NC Brewery! -> read here

August 2008
PULL UP A STOOL with Uli Bennewitz
Read All About Beer Magazine's interview with Uli Bennewitz, Weeping Radish Farm Brewery -> read here

photo provided by
All About Beer Magazine

All About Beer
Nearly two decades ago, as he took up a job as an agricultural consultant in Manteo, NC, Uli Bennewitz was persuaded by his brother back in Bavaria that a restaurant that brewed its own beer—a brewpub—would be a sure winner in his new home in America. The brewing equipment was en route to North Carolina before this newcomer discovered two unfortunate legal obstacles: brewpubs were illegal in North Carolina, and Manteo itself was located in a dry county.

Organic Brews
The Weeping Radish has long been one of the most popular breweries showcasing their products at Roanoke's MicroFestivus, a fundraiser for Center in the Square.
By Amanda Codispoti / 981-3334

But at Saturday's MicroFestivus, one of the Square Society's annual fundraisers, Bennewitz was wearing the chef's hat.

He left the job of pouring ice-cold beer from a keg to someone else and stationed himself at a grill under a tent in Elmwood Park. There, he browned organic hot dogs and bratwursts made at his North Carolina farm and brewery.

Weeping Radish was one of almost 30 breweries at the beer festival, which drew about 3,500 people. Event organizers estimated that they raised $20,000 which will benefit Center in the Square.

Bennewitz, 55, has been an advocate of natural foods (and drinks) long before it blossomed as a trend.

It started back in 1986 with his chemical-free beer.

This year, Bennewitz expanded his brewery to include a butchery and an organic garden.

"This is what we've worked for for a long time," Bennewitz said. When he started the brewery, it wasn't because he wanted to experiment with recipes in his basement.
"It was really a desire to have a good beer around," he said.
He had been in America for a few years after moving from Germany, and had yet to find a good, craft beer.
He bought a brewery, only to find out that in North Carolina you could make beer, but you couldn't sell it.
So he worked to get the law changed. A bill introduced to the state legislature passed, paving the way for other breweries in the state.
He then hired a master brewer from Germany to come to America and make the beer using an old recipe.
"The whole point is that they've learned it over hundreds of years," he said. "Who am I to start tinkering?"
The business got its name from the German practice of salting radishes, making them sweat.
When eaten, the salty radishes bring on a thirst.
This year, Bennewitz's focus is on meats and organic vegetables and herbs.

Bennewitz, who works as a farm manager (that's what brings in the money, he said), planted a 14-acre garden this spring. Some of the crop is cooked and served at the brewery's restaurant. The rest is sold to local restaurants.
He's also buying hormone-free meats from farmers in his area. A German master butcher turns it into sausages, roasts, hams and steaks, which are also sold to local restaurants.
MicroFestivus organizers say Weeping Radish is one of the most popular breweries among the beer drinkers that support the fundraiser. On Saturday, Bennewitz took frequent breaks from the grill to shake hands with his devotees. One fan, Kenny Hodges, asked Bennewitz to autograph a copy of the magazine, "All About Beer," which featured an article on the Weeping Radish Farm and Brewery.
"I've been drinking their beer for almost 20 years," said Hodges, who lives in Pulaski County.
Another Weeping Radish lover, Bert Lawton, described the Dark Radish brew as the perfect dark beer.
"Immaculate," the 37-year-old Roanoker said. "I buy a T-shirt and a mug and this is where I park [myself] when I come here."