Weeping Radish

No, that’s not what I did before starting this post – although it’s been so long since I’ve written I am hoping for a miracle. “Have A Cup of Coffee and Pray” is what the food production industry nicknamed the HACCP regulations when they first came out. The HACCP system, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, is what almost all food wholesalers must comply with and what I spent three days studying at NC State. It was definitely an eye opening experience. But first a little background information.

Since we began production under USDA inspection we’ve been following the HACCP plan I wrote with help from NCDA officials. However, no one was actually certified to approve this plan so I enrolled in the Introduction to HACCP Workshop hoping it would make life at the Radish just a little bit easier. For over two years we have been struggling with our federal meat inspectors, the Battle of the Unstamped Hogs is legendary and the Prosciutto Wars are ongoing, and the conclusion we’ve reached is this: the federal regulations are not written for small plants like ours. Living with this conclusion is not always easy or pleasant and if you visit our bar we’d be happy to regale you with war stories while you nurse your shock with a pint of our excellent beer!

I could have done with several pints before I even started my HACCP class (lovingly referred to as Meat School by friends and family). Being ridiculously anxious about arriving late on my first day, I was 40 minutes early for class. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one with first day jitters and I passed the time talking with a woman from a chicken processing plant near Fayetteville. That doesn’t sound too awful does it? Nothing to send me screaming for a pint of Black Radish? Wrong. HACCP is basically the list of steps to make a particular product with a Critical Control Point (CCP) where an infection/adulteration may occur. As the Weeping Radish Butchery is so small, the Butcher and I work together to create and monitor complete HACCP plans for nearly a dozen products. My new chicken friend spends her days monitoring one CCP! Their operation is so large that they have 12 inspectors that work full 8-hour shifts; our inspector normally finishes his assignments in a few hours. Upon hearing this, my first thought was “Why on earth are we taking the same course?”

There is a massive difference between our artisan butcher and the meat hackers that need HACCP plans to tell them what to do. This point was hammered home again when the class divided into groups to write HACCP plans for fictitious products. I questioned the use of sodium nitrate in the product, pointing out that a growing number of people are unwilling to buy products that use nitrates as a curing salt (I don’t necessarily agree with this, but that is a blog for another day!). I think the look they gave me was close to pity, “Poor confused girl thinking about public opinion instead of mass production.” When I explained that our operation consisted of one Master Butcher who only worked with whole animals they looked at me like I had two heads! What is this strange creature doing in HACCP School with Perdue and ConAgra (makers of Slim Jim and Chef Boyardee)? Excellent question! Any answers USDA?

Prologue (Sort of)

Two cities, both alike in breweries

In fair Germany, where we lay our scene

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny

Where civil beer makes civil tankards unclean

From forth the angry breweries of these two foes

The Weeping Radish Kolsch and Alt Bier arise

And by neutrally prospering in North Carolina

Do with their quality bury their parents’ strife.

Not many people outside Germany know that there is a passionate rivalry between the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf. Not many people outside Germany know where these two cities are located. (They’re in the northwestern part of the country and Cologne is about twenty-five miles south of Düsseldorf. I had to look it up too!) One of the main reasons for their discord is that both cities produce a distinct style of beer and neither one will admit the merits of the other. Düsseldorf is famous for its Alt Bier while Cologne invented Kolsch beer. However, in the spirit of neutrality, the Weeping Radish Brewery produces both styles to the delight of its patrons.

The Weeping Radish Kolsch beer is extremely popular and pays homage to its German roots by displaying the famous Cologne Cathedral on its label. It was this label that caught the eye of a German radio reporter based in Washington DC. Nina Magoley is from Cologne and made a special trip to the Weeping Radish to speak with Uli Bennewitz about his brewery and his experiences on both sides of the Atlantic. The result was a story on www.wdr.de and a live radio show. At the end of the article Uli couldn’t resist a little jab at the cities’ rivalry. “We had a customer from Düsseldorf come by and try the Kolsch,” Uli said. “He told me there was something wrong with the Kolsch. It tasted good!”

This article, the last line in particular, caught the attention of Bildzeitung, the largest daily German newspaper with a large office in Düsseldorf. With true German efficiency, they did their research and discovered that the Weeping Radish also brewed an Alt Bier. A reporter was on the phone to Uli within minutes and Weeping Radish Alt Bier labels and other information began buzzing through cyberspace. Their article on the Weeping Radish Brewery will be published in the next few days and, big surprise, promises to focus heavily on the Alt Bier.

As amusing as this rivalry may seem to us, and we are having a wonderful time poking fun at both cities, there is a positive outcome: Cologne and Düsseldorf will continue to produce outstanding beers if only to spite their rival. Prost!

This holiday season everyone is hunting for unique Christmas gifts at bargain prices. Yes, Weeping Radish beer makes a wonderful gift and it is reasonably priced, but that isn’t really the point of this post.

It is fairly common knowledge that beer can be divided into two styles, ales and lagers, with the primary difference being the amount of time that the beer is aged. Lagers are aged for nearly twice the amount of time as ales at temperatures around 40°F. As the Weeping Radish exclusively produces German style lagers, I can tell you without hesitation that lagers require more energy, equipment and expertise than ales; some of the main reasons why most home-brewers only brew ales.

No for some not so common knowledge: lagers and ales are regularly sold for the same price. Think about that for a minute. You are paying the same amount for an ale that costs less to manufacture than the lager sitting next to it on the shelf. Surprising, isn’t it?

My next question is, what are you going to do with this new-found economic wisdom? Well if you act on the “Bang for Your Buck” principle, then you’ll make sure to buy lagers in future. Coincidentally, I know a brewery that makes excellent lagers with a Christmas Bier that makes a perfect gift for the holidays!

Merry Christmas!!

Once again I am using this blog to complain about the Federal Government. I don’t want to appear fixated, but they keep giving me lemons so I am going to make lemonade.

Our saga begins with the Food Safety Inspection Service’s (FSIS) remarkable silly labeling procedures. Every product we make for wholesale must have an approved label on file that complies with federal regulations. That doesn’t sound so terrible does it? Would it sound worse if I told you that a copy of the label and corresponding form must be sent in duplicate to the Label and Program Delivery Division for approval and that until they mail the approved label and form back you cannot sell the product in question? Anyone who has had the misfortune of working with a government agency knows that an efficient response time is a foreign concept and anyone expecting such a service is being discretely measured for a straightjacket. Back in the days of our innocence we did what our inspectors told us: submit the labels for federal approval and then sweat bullets until we heard back three to six weeks later whether or not we could label and sell our products. One day, in desperate frustration, I called the FSIS office in Washington to see what else I could do to speed this approval process along, as it was slowly killing the butchery and driving me towards the door of a padded cell. The woman I eventually reached on the phone was an angel; seriously, if I knew her name I would nominate her for a Nobel Prize. She cut through the official jargon and told me plainly that there was a miraculous alternative called Generic Approval. As long as we met all of the requirements listed on the FSIS Labeling website, we could attach a copy of the label to its form, stick it in the filing cabinet and call it a day. No waiting more waiting on Washington to allow us to sell sausages. The only snag with this brilliant proposal was that if we made any special claims such as “No Nitrates Added” or “Gluten Free” these labels would have to be approved by a man on Uncle Sam’s payroll. Well at least we’d have something to sell while we waited. The next day I walked up to our inspector with a file of Generically Approved Labels and I’d swear she almost seemed disappointed we’d discovered the loophole.

Fast forward to this November. We have been working with Henderson’s Best Produce to make our Apple Bratwursts using their apples in their markets. This is a fantastic opportunity for us and we are anxious to start working on it. Everything has been ready for weeks except the labels. We sent in our application and about two weeks after mailing it (they absolutely will not answer your phone call before those two weeks are up) called the Status Hotline for an update. They had no idea what I was talking about. It must have been lost in the mail, the woman on the other end of the phone said in a tone of voice that totally made it sound like it was my fault. She supposed I could fax it over, so I faxed all afternoon until they had a draft they could inspect in minute detail. Two more weeks of nail biting and it was still being processed. Enough. Last Straw. Absolute Limit

I spent the weekend in Washington, DC visiting friends and on Monday morning I presented myself at the security desk of the USDA George Washington Carver Center to bang a fist and get my label. Clearly no one just pops in for a visit at the USDA because my arrival was greeted with unrestrained wonder by the friendly security staff. They were sympathetic to my plight and perfectly willing to give me a pass to the right office; the problem was that I didn’t have a specific office. All I knew was the voice on the other end of the Labeling and Program Delivery Division Status phone who had never mentioned her name and she was inconveniently away from her phone. Not to worry, I said, I’d call the Radish and have them look up the name on a federally approved label and then Security could tell that person I wanted to speak to them. I got the name, but Security shook his head. That was just a worker who came in and out; I needed to give them the name of a supervisor. Stunned and beginning to get desperate I called our wonderful Area Supervisor for help. He was on the road inspecting facilities, but put me in touch with a helpful woman at his office in Raleigh who started searching and promised to call me back soon. Somewhere in the middle of all of these phone calls, the remarkably kind security lady went up to the FSIS office to explain what was going on. Mr. Security did his part by looking at me with pity and continuing to call Label Status. Finally he struck gold and Status came on the line. She was shocked I was there in person and was extremely reluctant to speak to me in person. Eventually, after realizing I wasn’t leaving until I spoke to someone face to face, she promised to send someone to escort me to the FSIS office. Mr. Security was beaming as he took my ID and got me a visitor’s pass and I’d like to think he was awfully impressed by my determination. As I passed through the metal detectors, the inspired security lady who went to the FSIS office came back with the Department Director. Madam Director listened to my plight, apologized profusely for the department’s losing our application, promised they would make things right and then went to lunch.

After this things moved along rather quickly. My escort arrived and led me through the gleaming new building and a maze of cubicles to the FSIS wing while I told her my story. She looked at me strangely and said “Well that’s your problem. You shouldn’t have made the special claims of ‘Gluten Free’ and ‘No Nitrates Added.’” This floored me. I would like to think that anyone connected with the food industry, like the Food Safety and Inspection Service, would know that these are the industry buzz words and huge selling points for products. I thought about explaining all this too her, but we were out of hallway and I had been crusading for 45 minutes to get to this office and I was tired. Within minutes of arriving at her cubicle I had my approved label in hand and was being politely escorted back to the front door. And just like that the battle was finished. Over a month of arguing, stressing, talking to the Status Line about processing culminated in two minutes of polite conversation with a lady in Beltsville, Maryland.

During the five-hour drive home my initial triumph and relief about the label approval was replaced with frustration for the Labeling Program’s ignorance and nonchalance for the products they are validating. Walking through those rows of cubicles I can see how easy it is for workers to lose touch with the real world; the Internet must be their only relief from mind-numbing boredom. However, the Internet offers more than Hulu and Facebook and perhaps FSIS workers could spend less time on these sites and more time learning about the industry they are regulating. I assure you small businesses everywhere would appreciate it. In the mean time we’ll just keep drinking our lemonade and check our pigs for wings.

Our Christmas Bier is now on draft! The brewers are filling liters like crazy for this weekend and cases will be available early next week. A traditional Doppelbock, this year’s Christmas Bier is out of this world!

I love beer fests. You wouldn’t think standing behind a table and pouring beer for six to eight hours would be that much fun, but it really is. Everyone is there because they love beer or they’ve been dragged along by someone else who loves beer and are waiting for you to impress them, which I love doing. (Normally all this entails is pointing to Uli as the man who created the law that allowed brewpubs in North Carolina and people in line stare in awe and ask to shake his hand.) Festivals are always cheerful, filled with people and, due largely in part to bizarre and stringent alcohol laws, miraculously well organized. Most of these are spring and summer events held outside in sunny parks or even stadiums so I had stoically resolved to wait until April before I started scanning the calendar and filling out festival applications. Imagine my surprise when I was told that on November 14th we would be loading up the truck and heading out to Danville, Virginia for a beer fest!

After my initial glee had subsided, I began to wonder why this festival was in the fall. What were the organizers thinking going against tradition like this? When we got to Danville I realized that the organizers were geniuses. The middle of November is the perfect time to have an event because there is nothing else going on. People flocked to the building like they hadn’t been out of the house in weeks (which, given the size of the nor’easter that just blown through, they probably hadn’t). Everyone loved our beer and many people asked where they could get it locally. Normally we can rattle off a long list of fine establishments clever enough to carry our beer, but this time the list was embarrassingly short. Our excellent distributor is doing the best he can to promote this delicious beer with a funny name, but stores and restaurants aren’t willing to take the risk.

And this is what has brought me out of my blogging lethargy. Our distributors are trying to bring our beer to the masses, but they need your help. Go to your local restaurant, Wine & Beer store, grocery store or any place you buy beer and ask/beg for Weeping Radish. Tell them how much you like it and strike up a conversation about how we got our unique name or how we are the oldest microbrewery in North Carolina. They’ll be dazzled by your obscure beer knowledge and delighted to fill your request. We have distributors in Richmond, Tidewater, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Danville, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, and Verona in Virginia, Raleigh North Carolina and of course on the Outer Banks!

So think of us when you buy beer and we’ll see you at a beer fest in the spring!

Controversy and conspiracy are running wild as the Federal government comes closer to passing the Food Safety Modernization bill. Small growers, farmers market patrons and even people on the street are outraged that the government is trying to regulate Grandma selling tomatoes from her garden at a local market. Websites railing against the bill and email petitions are popping up all over the digital ether and yet the bill is almost a law. Calmer heads are saying that the effect on small growers will be nothing more than a bit of paperwork to register your farm and a headache if an inspector comes to visit. But here at the Weeping Radish we are buried in paperwork and inspectors and this “headache” was enough for me to sign one of those numerous petitions. Currently we are being inspected by over a dozen agencies. This is a staggering number, but each agency feels that they are protecting people from some aspect of our business that might harm the general public. And that got me thinking. USDA inspectors have basically moved in to our building because there was an infection at a massive processing plant, the county health inspector checks our restaurant because someone got food poisoning from another restaurant, even the Department of Natural Resources investigated our compost pile to make sure it wasn’t affecting water quality. So what has happened at farmer’s markets to warrant this kind of bill? We stumbled across the answer to this question without even realizing it at the time

This summer we have absolutely loved attending a local farmer’s market. There were two large farms supplying vegetables, one organic and one non-organic, and we presumed they were selling produce from their own farms. As we were preparing for a larger market event the organizers came to us and asked how our farm had fared given the recent weather changes. They wanted us to bring as many vegetables as possible because their larger vendors had weather related shortages and their other suppliers were short as well. This floored us. We would never dream of bringing other people’s sausages to market or even offering organic vegetables from another farm.

Please correct me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t the point of a farmer’s market to buy fresh produce and support local farmers? Shouldn’t I be offended if a farmer is selling me vegetables without telling me that they aren’t his?  Shouldn’t I be as angry as the people who got E. Coli from peanut butter or food poisoning from a restaurant? Shouldn’t I demand some kind of oversight for farmer’s markets?

Farmer’s markets are a thriving grassroots movement, a place where people come together to talk, laugh, and embrace a healthier way of eating, and the last thing they need is an inspector and paperwork to slow them down. They have regulated themselves for years, but it seems standards have been dropped as farmers/vendors chase the almighty dollar. The economy is tough and I understand the need to increase sales, but at least be honest about it. Tell me where the vegetables come from and let me decide if where they’re grown is as important as organic certification.

The misdeeds of a few have resulted in the government restricting the free trade of farmer’s markets.  Cynics will say that big business is solely behind this movement to create a monopoly on the markets. However, it all goes back to the individual who cheated the system, which caused the regulations, which were sponsored by “Big Business” and results in massive regulatory burdens that kill small businesses. One of the largest attractions of a farmer’s market is the personal connection with the growers and faith in what they are producing. If a farmer breaks that trust by not disclosing the truth about his products, then you may as well buy organic vegetables from Argentina at Wal-Mart.

We did a “Spring Cleaning” in the brewery this summer and brought in a Master Brewer from Germany to work with our brewers. In one very busy month they cleaned the brewery from top to bottom, refitted and rerouted pipes, upgraded bottling and kegging operations, and refreshed our recipes. Since our beers are German lagers they take anywhere from four to six weeks to age and our new beers have been rolling out over the last few weeks. Customer reaction has been incredible: everyone has loved the bright clean taste of the new Weeping Radish Beer!

Saving the best for last our brewers rolled out the first kegs of Black Radish a few days ago. Over the years the Black Radish has become our signature beer, a brew unlike any of its darker cousins, so we were a little worried about how loyal customers would react to the “refreshed” version. Brewer Ray Hodge told us not to worry and he was absolutely right! The Black Radish is back and it’s better than ever!

Why are we so proud of the Black Radish and nervous about any alteration? The Black Radish is listed on several beer lists and websites as a beer you have to drink before you die, but the real feather in its cap is being the Beer Judging Guide’s Standard for a Schwartz Beer. One brewer commented that it was the “no frills” aspect of the Black Radish that made it so special; it is just a great dark beer.

Whether you like the Black Radish for its smooth body, subtle roasted flavors or the fact that you feel cool drinking a dark German lager, you’ll love this new batch!

Over twenty years ago, Uli battled laws and regulations that were written by corporate breweries to limit competition from small microbreweries. Today he is fighting the same issues with regards to the meat industry. Our artisan butchery is subject to the same regulations and restrictions as large-scale slaughter and processing facilities. We appreciate that these regulations are meant to protect the consumer, but for a facility of our size they are more of a hindrance to the consumer: our Master Butcher spends more time filling out inane forms than crafting products for the consumer. In desperation Uli contacted the North Carolina’s US senator to see if he could help us navigate the minefield of threats and regulatory requirements. Sadly the Senator’s answer, “Hang in there, it is going to get worse,” was not what we had hoped for. In an attempt to increase awareness of the difficulties facing small businesses, here is Uli’s response to yet another instance of government inaction:

Dear Sir,

As a representative of a Senator I am somewhat disappointed with your response to my issue. First of all, you have to surely agree that one Federal Inspector daily supervising our one-man artisan butchery is not an effective use of taxpayer’s money. If we have one inspector for one worker where does this leave the “Land of the Free?” We do not have this kind of scrutiny in our nuclear or chemical industry.

Secondly, the Senator is always reporting to his constituency that, as a Republican, he supports small business and fair trade. How can it be fair trade if we have a policy where a US business is inspected every day and is not allowed to operate if an inspector is not present while we import food from countries that our Government inspects once a year upon announcement? We are trying to create local jobs, support sustainable agriculture, revitalize family farms in eastern North Carolina and we’re struggling to accomplish all this while our Government allows un-inspected meats to come in by the container?

A perfect example was our attempt to make Prosciutto. Our Government does not allow us to air dry Prosciutto, but we can import Italian and Spanish Prosciutto, which has been air-dried in the country of origin where they do not have to comply with USDA’s HACCP requirements, etc.

Just to show you what we have to live with as small business: We had to install a costly 3 hour firewall, 120 ft by 36 ft high, because according to fire code a refrigerated meat processing room contains meat “which is combustible at 42 degrees F”. The stupidity is mind numbing! I know fire code is a State issue, but I want to impress upon you that as a small family owned business producing natural food, we have so far dealt with 14 Government agencies, from local to State to Federal. When we complained once to the Federal meat inspectors about their rules being unreasonable, the response from the agent was: You should have thought about this before you went under Federal inspection. Great! We have to apologize to a Federal inspector for trying to create business.

I had hoped that there would be a response from our elected Senator other than “hang in there, it is going to get worse.” Don’t get me wrong I tend to agree with this statement after all we have been through, but you must admit it is not very encouraging to watch our Country being swamped with imports, while our Government drowns small business with regulations and inspectors. This doesn’t protect anyone and only ensures that we cannot compete, not because we don’t want to, but because regulations are stacked against us and in favor of cheap imports.

Sincerely,

Uli Bennewitz

For over fifty years the Brickskeller in Washington DC has brought incredible beers from all over the world to beer lovers in our nation’s capitol. This is a very special time of year for beer lovers and the Brickskeller is no exception. They have planned an Oktoberfest celebration that is truly sensational! Every evening during the week of September 20th you can try a different Oktoberfest beer and on the 22nd and 23rd you can talk to our very own Uli Bennewitz!

www.lovethebeer.com/events.html

Q – Whats better than an Oktoberfest tasting featuring an authentic German style craft brewery?

A – An Oktoberfest tasting featuring an authentic German style craft brewery with Schlächterei (that’s a butchery!) and eco farm attached!

Without question one of our “best of the best” most favorite guest speakers over the 27+ years and 600+ events we’ve brought you, Uli Bennewitz finally returns to our stage! (YAY!)

It’s OKTOBERFEST at the Brickskeller!
Uli Bennewitz of the WEEPING RADISH ECO FARM AND BREWERY
September 22nd and 23rd

Uli came to America to run large agri-farm systems and got suckered into opening a craft brewery by his brother in the mid 1980’s who told him a brewery is a marvelous machine that you put water in one end and it spits out money at the other. Rumor has it they did remain on speaking terms. Uli now combines his considerable talents not only brewing his wonderful and 100% natural German style beers, but also offering a wide range of hormone and antibiotic free meats and brats from his butchery as well as fresh produce from his farm! We are truly very excited to have this spellbinding storyteller back on our stage and being given the chance to introduce this pioneering legend to those who have not yet had the pleasure of sampling his products and hearing him speak.

As if his portfolio of beers and a wonderful selection of his fresh meats isn’t enough we will serve all our guests a shaker glass of a true Munich Oktoberfest bier (and one of the very first seasonal beers ever available in the United States) Spaten Oktoberfest at programs conclusion. Those unable to stop themselves from doing the chicken dance will be treated accordingly. The Weeping Radish Eco Farm and Brewery, originally located in the dry town of Manteo NC, is now situated on 24 acres in Jarvisburg, NC on Highway 168/158, just a few miles from the entrance to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The address is – 6810 Carotoke Hwy Jarvisburg, NC 27947 (252) 491-5205 We cannot strongly enough suggest stopping by his beautiful farm brewery on your way to and from the OBX on your next visit.

Check ‘em out online at – www.weepingradish.com

September 22nd and 23rd
At the Brickskeller
1523 22nd St NW
Doors open at 6. We never start at 7!
Prosit!