Salisbury, Md. (Thursday, October 10 2013) - When Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, well known for mining the culinary landscape for beer ingredients, joined with Hans All Natural, whose like-minded founder traveled the globe in search of exotic flavors for his brats, both companies knew they were onto something that would go beyond the typical brats-and-beer combination.

They were right. After a spring limited introduction, the Dogfish Head Brats are now available at more than 50 retail outlets, including Kings Food Markets, Balducci’s, Food Bazaar and Murphy’s Market. The Dogfish Brats are also available at select restaurants that carry the brewery’s off-centered ales, and at the company’s Milton, Del., brewery.

Hans All Natural, a part of Coleman Natural Foods, is committed to sustainable practices. Animals are raised in an environment designed to reduce stress, with no antibiotics or hormones used*, and fed an all-vegetarian diet with no animal by-products. The brats are all natural, minimally processed with no preservatives, fillers, nitrates, nitrites or artificial ingredients.

Award-winning Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is famous for its “off-centered ales for off-centered people.”

“This was part of a larger effort to come up with beer-centric foods to pair with our food-centric beers,” said Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head. “We carefully selected small, artisanal companies, as well as larger companies that share our roots on the Delmarva Peninsula.

“Hans All-Natural has that artisanal approach,” added Calagione.

“We were intrigued when Sam came to us with the idea for beer-infused brats,” said Jody Hallman of the Hans All Natural marketing team. “Dogfish Head is famous for blending exotic ingredients.”

With dozens of beer-inspired recipes at Dogfish Head’s Rehoboth Beach brewpub, Calagione was no stranger to food, but there’s a big leap going from a dish destined for the plate to products put into packages for sale in stores.

“We were able to team up the folks from Dogfish Head with our Research and Development team,” said Hallman. “The first challenge was figuring out how to get the beer infused into the brats in way that would blend the flavors of the beer with the flavors of the other ingredients. The answer was a beer reduction”

“New products are always exciting, but there was something special about working with Sam and the folks from Dogfish Head,” said Chad Clem, from the Brat Hans Research and Development team. “Taking an all-natural product, like our Hans All-Natural brats, and blending them with beers from one of the most creative breweries in the world was a great experience for everyone on the team. We got to work not only with great beers, but with some very unique ingredients.”

Dogfish settled on four brat flavors featuring “off-centered ingredients.”

• Spicy Espresso Brats are made with espresso powder, minced habanero and cumin. A touch of Dogfish Head Chicory Stout provides a smooth, chocolate foil to the mild heat.

• The Heirloom Italian Brat is based on a recipe from Dogfish Founder Sam Calagione’s family. Sam’s great-grandmother used pork, fennel and red pepper in her classic Italian brat. In this version, the Italian flavors get a helping of Dogfish’s Midas Touch, a beer/wine/mead hybrid.

• The Greek Feta Brat is made with feta cheese, mint, spinach, cumin, lemon and a dose of Midas Touch.

• Bratwurst, the classic, is made with white pepper, coriander, mace and mustard, dosed with Belgian dark ale Raison D’Etre.

The brats, which carry a suggested retail price of $6.99 per package, are the perfect culinary counterpoint to Dogfish Head’s off-centered ales.

*Federal law prohibits the use of hormones and steroids in poultry and pork.

About Coleman Natural
Since 1875, Coleman Natural has pioneered the natural and organic animal-raising practices that represent the highest standard of meat production in the United States. We work exclusively with small family farms throughout the country that share our conviction to provide American families with premium antibiotic-free and organic poultry, pork and prepared foods. Our brands include COLEMAN NATURAL®, COLEMAN ORGANIC®, THE ORIGINAL BRAT HANS® AND HANS ALL-NATURAL®. Coleman Natural and its brands are part of Perdue Farms. For more information, visit www.colemannatural.com.