On November 3 Mari and Will Kemper owners of Chuckanut Brewery, were inducted into the WA Brewers Guild Hall of Fame, which recognized seven individuals whose groundbreaking contributions have shaped Washington’s vibrant craft beer scene. Mari and Will were among the inaugural group and were honored for their exceptional leadership, innovation, mentorship, excellence in the craft, advocacy, and dedication to the state’s brewing industry. This first ceremony occurred during the WA Craft Brewers Summit in Seattle. The Kempers opened one of the first craft breweries in WA state when they created their Thomas Kemper Brewing Co. on Bainbridge Island in 1984. At the time fewer then eight micro breweries existed in the northwest.
The brewery quickly grew out of its industrial space on Bainbridge and moved to Poulsbo where they opened one of the first brewpubs in the state. Thomas Kemper was eventually bought by Pyramid Brewing which at the time produced Thomas Kemper Root Beer a well known craft soda in the Northwest. After leaving Kemper Brewing Will continued to consult on small craft breweries along the east coast including North Carolina (Wheeping Radish), Philadelphia (Dock Street), Washington DC (Capital City Brewing) and Lowell Massachusetts (Mill City Brewing). Mari, Will and family returned to the Northwest in 1993 when Will became Brewmaster for Beers Across America with breweries such as Aviator Ales (Redmond), Norwest Brewing (Portand, OR), Orange County Brewing (Irving, CA), Mile High Brewing (Denver) and others in planning.
Will taught Brewing Engineering at UC Davis at the same time Mari and Will were working on setting up Sierra Madre Brewing Co. in Monterrey, Mexico. After the set up of two brewpubs in the city of Monterrey the Kempers made their way to Istanbul, Turkey where the first brewpub in Turkey was created called Taps. The Kempers then returned to Istanbul later to set up the first production Craft Brewery. During this period the Kempers retained their home in Bellingham and finally returned to it in 2007 to set up their own brewery, Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen, which opened in late July 2008. Chuckanut won GABF small brewery of the year the first time they entered the contest in 2009 with medals for four Lager beers. This was highly unusual as most craft brewers at the time were making ales which were extremely hoppy. Two years later Chuckanut won again in 2011 with four medals for their European Ales and Lagers (2 lagers and 2 ales).
Over the years the Kempers mentored many brewers and individuals involved in the craft brewing scene around the US and Europe. Among them were Josh Pfriem (Pfriem Family Brewers), Kevin Davey (previously Wayfinder now Gold Dot/Heater Allen), Bryan Cardwell (Structuressss Brewing) and others. Will influenced many of these brewers in the realm of lager beers. His expertise is highly regarded and includes books, papers and talks. After Covid Chuckanut closed the kitchen in Bellingham but kept the production facility in Skagit County and expanded it. For two years they opened P. Nut the Portland Tap Room from 2022-2024. They closed P. Nut in order to concentrate on the expanded production facility at the Port of Bellingham where all Chuckanut beers are made and packaged in kegs and cans. Currently Chuckanut beers are distributed and sold in WA, OR, CA, CO, and soon to include Chicago, IL.
Chuckanut Brewery brews award winning Lagers and Ales and has won Large Brewery of the Year at WA Beer Awards 2017, 2019 and 2021 and Small Brewery at the GABF 2009 & 2011. The production facility and Tap Room is in Skagit Valley at 11937 Higgins Airport Way, Burlington, WA. Chuckanut welcomes guests of all ages and has indoor and outdoor seating! Check out additional information about Chuckanut at chuckanutbrewery.com.
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