About Werner
Few jerky brands can trace their start to an owl. In the early 1980s Ken Werner worked in reforestation in the Coast Range of Tillamook County, and the brand says the spotted owl’s endangered listing in the late 1980s and early 1990s upended that industry and pushed the family in a new direction. In 1994 Ken and Karla Werner founded Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks, refining recipes in their garage and selling from the family minivan along the north Oregon Coast. The business outgrew the garage and moved into the city of Tillamook, hired employees, some of them family, and introduced smoked meat sticks. In the early 2000s Ken added a separate section of the facility for packaging candy. Today all four of Ken and Karla’s children work in the company, alongside several of Ken’s siblings and cousins.
What makes Werner different
Every Werner flavor page tells the same story: premium beef, seasoned with the family’s own blend of spices, then smoked over natural wood. The brand says the whole process, from raw materials through cooking, smoking, packaging and shipping, happens in-house at its 150,000-square-foot Tillamook facility. The All Natural jerky line is billed as minimally processed, gluten-free, nitrate-free and nitrite-free, with no added MSG or artificial ingredients, according to the manufacturer.
Werner flavors we carry
The Werner range here is all natural wood-smoked beef jerky in 2.4-ounce bags, most of it with no heat called out. For the plainest version of the house recipe, the original-style beef jerky is described as meaty and salty; Ol’ Fashioned lands sweet and tangy, Honey Glazed is pitched as “meat candy,” and Garlic is billed as a crowd favorite whose mild tang sweetens as it smokes. For a Pacific turn, Werner’s teriyaki beef jerky pairs savory soy with a subtle sweetness, and the cracked pepper beef jerky brings what the brand calls a smoky kick.
The warmer end stays modest. Smokey BBQ is described as slightly spicy and subtly sweet, Sweet & Spicy, the family’s first recipe, finishes sweet and peppery with hints of tangy garlic, and the sweet smoked jalapeño beef jerky is where the brand says it turned up the heat a bit: slightly sweet with a warm-burn finish. Everything currently in stock is in the grid above.
Who it’s for
If you like classic smokehouse flavors more than serious heat, Werner fits: most flavors list no heat, and even the jalapeño is described as a warm burn. The brand doesn’t describe texture on its product pages, so judge the chew for yourself. Every carried flavor includes soy from the gluten-free soy sauce in its ingredient list, and Sweet & Spicy also contains Worcestershire sauce with molasses and tamarind, so read the bag that interests you.
JerkyBrands is an independent retailer; the Werner name and logo are trademarks of their owner.
