In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

LAUNCHING THE FIRST CERTIFIED ORGANIC BREWPUB IN THE U.S.

In Business, January/February, 2004, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 18

The Cooperriders in Ukiah, California are justifiably proud of what they've accomplished in their family business.

Eric Gordon

AFTER moving back to Ukiah, California in 1998, Bret Cooperrider, with several years experience as a brewer in Fort Collins, Colorado, approached his parents Els and Allen with the idea of starting a brewpub. Els and Allen, both biologists and local activists with ecological issues in Mendocino County, were completely supportive - of course it would have to be all organic! On May 31, 2000, the doors of America's first certified organic brewpub, Ukiah Brewing Company, opened for business. Ukiah Brewing Company serves both as a pub, offering the beer made on the premises, and as a restaurant. As for organically certified restaurants, it is the second in the nation after Nora's in Washington D.C. I stopped in during Sunday brunch and chatted with brewmaster Bret, who was eating with his wife Erica and sons Cade and Jace, Allen who does the accounting, and Els the manager. Just like any other quality establishment, the food looked great and the portions were substantial.
I sat down with Els in the back room next to the fireplace and adjacent to the large copper tanks where the beer is brewed. Els emigrated from Holland with her family in 1957. Her parents planted wine grapes in the hills surrounding Ukiah in the 1960s and farmed them the “old fashioned” way, naturally - what is now called “organic.” The combination of her upbringing in a rural community where much of the produce and livestock was locally grown and raised, along with her educational background and pursuits, made managing an all organic brewery and restaurant a natural.
Since many of us can run to a nearby natural food store and buy everything organic, it would not seem so difficult to supply a restaurant. But as Els tells it, this has been the greatest obstacle. “There's a huge retail market for organics, but the food service market isn't there. So, what we had to do when we opened up was buy small packages of organic cheese or small bottles of ketchup and other ingredients. There were certain ingredients we couldn't find that we need in bulk and if we couldn't find them, we didn't serve them. When we opened, you couldn't find any organic mayonnaise in gallon containers. We started making our own and continue to do so.
“I've cooked for over 35 years and had all these recipes for pickles, mustard, bread and other condiments so we just started using those and making all of it ourselves because we were able to find those ingredients organically grown. Otherwise, everything is bottled and packaged for the retail consumer. I've called up all the manufactures of organic products and distributors, but the change is slow and hard to come by in food service quantities. It's taken a year, but now I can buy 40-pound blocks of cheese from Strauss Family Creamery, and 20-pound blocks of cream cheese and sour cream from Horizon,” says Els.
To be first is always difficult. While Els spoke, I reflected back to the days of my youth as a first child. It was a learning curve for my parents and me as each day was a new situation for both parties. Rules had to be made up along the way. By the time my brother came along two years later, he would skate through and not be the guinea pig getting in trouble for this or that. So it is with being the first organic brewpub. The obstacle to convenience and access to prepackaged food products has created an old style country kitchen at the Ukiah Brewing Company. Daily, the mayonnaise has to be made, the dough for the bread kneaded, and even the laborious task of receiving an entire beef or lamb to be cut up to make steaks, or ground into hamburger, and the bones reserved for the stockpot. It's not what we expect goes on in most restaurants today, but ironically the Cooperriders have been forced back to the kitchen by the unavailability of food products and the current lack of integrity amongst many suppliers to provide quality control of organic standards for processed and perishable foods. Two local organic producers have committed to growing seasonal crops for the restaurant, and the beef comes from local ranches in Mendocino, Lake, and Marin Counties.
With all of these hardships and availability problems, is everything really organic? “I'd say about 99 percent organic,” says Els. “We are allowed to be 95 percent organic. Our goal is 100 percent organic. There are a couple of items not organic. There are a few varieties of hops that are unavailable organically. Bret has persuaded a couple of the growers to have them transition their crops to organic. Otherwise our malt vinegar and coconut milk are not organic. We're even able to find and now use organic Worcestershire sauce. Now that's amazing.”
It appears that it is really doable. The restaurant business is known to be one of the more difficult endeavors to exhibit long-term success, not to mention the hurdles that the Cooperriders face. Els speaks of her commitment to the endeavor in her pursuit to establish a broader organic-based distribution system for the food service industry. “It's time consuming enough just to run the thing, but it is one of my major tasks to keep sourcing organic ingredients for our kitchen and trying to talk to manufacturers and processors to sell and distribute organic products.”
While Els and I were talking, I surveyed the large and stately brick building with tan oak floor boards, the large, dark, wooden bar commanding from the north wall, and the cozy booths and many tables and chairs distributed about the open center. I remembered past experiences in many bars where there remained a lingering smell of stale beer spilled on the floors from the previous night. The Ukiah Brewing Company smelled fresh and was filled with the aroma of roasted potatoes this morning. At the least, I would expect the lingering smell of chlorine used to wipe down the tables and floors. Sanitation is a very important aspect of the organic certification process. It is a challenge for nontraditional processors and manufacturers of organic products to use only organically certified cleaning solutions. Chlorine is a highly toxic substance to living beings. It is the most common cleaning agent used in households and restaurants along with ammonium products. Els has chosen to use food grade hydrogen peroxide, an over-the counter disinfectant sold in drug stores. The positive side is it is completely biodegradable upon exposure to sunlight and oxygen. It kills microorganisms. In fact, most bottles' directions state that its uses include the disinfection of minor cuts and abrasions as well as an antiseptic gargle. Unfortunately, the Mendocino County Environmental Health Department cannot officially allow it. Not because they do not agree with its disinfecting attributes, but that it simply does not exist on their list of allowable substances. As Els, a biologist says, “I'm fighting it, and I think I'm going to win because, in fact, hydrogen peroxide is a better sanitizer and biocide than chlorine with fewer side effects, and without any toxic fumes. We even dip our eggs in it before cracking the shells to kill any possible salmonella before making our mayonnaise.”
At the end of the day, it is the beer and the food that must sell to keep the business going. And it seems it has now for nearly two years. Why do the people come? Is it because the organic status? “People come in here for the ambiance. It looks like a brewery. And the food tastes good,” says Els. “It's O.K. in my book for people not to care about organics, but if those same people come here because the food and beer tastes better, because it is prepared organically, then that is good. We did a survey of the people who came in here to see if they cared that the food was organic. Seventy-five percent of the respondents said that they cared about organics. Out of those 75 percent who said they cared about organics, 50 percent said they cared very much and 25 percent said they cared a little bit.”
When I asked if she would do it again knowing how hard the process would be, she just nodded her head up and down.
The Ukiah Brewing Company can be found in the heart of Ukiah at the corner of Perkins and State streets. They offer a full organic menu with many daily specials, including seasonal produce and fresh fish. At least six organic beers are offered daily as well as organically grown wine from eight of Mendocino County's wineries.

This article is reprinted with permission from the CCOF magazine. The California Certified Organic Farmers can be contacted at www.ccof.org. The Ukiah Brewing Company & Restaurant can be contacted at www.ukiahbrewingco.com.