As has been proven by the 12 medals Chuckanut Brewery has brought home from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) over the past four years, this Bellingham brewery makes some of the best lagers in the country. While they weren’t able to attend this weekend’s 2013 GABF (see here for why) and add to their medal total, they are going to put that extra time to good use. From the brewery:

We’re sorry to say we will not be at the Great American Beer Festival this fall. As some of you might know we just weren’t fast enough with signing up (the spaces filled up in 1.5 hours record time) to get into the competition. That’s okay because it will give us more time to concentrate on getting our bottling line going for the holidays! Yes we have purchased a bottling line and are in the process of getting our labels and everything ready for bottling sometime in late October-November. We plan to have bottled beer in limited amounts available at the Kitchen and just a few accounts in Seattle. Stay tuned for updates on our facebook and website.

Having bottles from Chuckanut to bring home for the fridge would be a welcome addition to the Seattle market. I definitely look forward to it. Not that I need more beer in my fridge…

Chuckanut also sent out a couple of other press releases today:

Chuckanut’s Brewmaster Speaks at Master Brewers Assoc of America

With many years of ongoing success Co-Founder/Brewmaster Will Kemper has been asked to speak at this year’s Master Brewers Association of the Americas MBAA Annual Conference on Oct 23-26 in Austin, TX about beer styles, specifically in relation to Hybrid Ales such as Kolsch Style ale and German Alt ale. Will has been an active member since 1989 of the MBAA, an organization that has been providing technical leadership for the brewing industry for 125 years.

This conference provides brewers and members of the brewing community from across the US an opportunity to network with peers, discuss critical issues in brewing, and discover the methods of others. At the conference Will is a member of a round table about beer styles with Mitch Steele (Stone Brewing Co), Andrew Tveekrem (Market Garden Brewery), and Chad Yakobson (Crooked Stave Artisan Beers). Each member of the round table will discuss a specific style of beer and then open to questions from the audience.

Will Kemper is a Diploma member of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling based in London, England. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering, is an alumnus of the Siebel Institute of Technology in Brewing Microscopy and Microbiology, and completed the first Master Brewers Program from the University of California at Davis. He taught brewery engineering for the American Brewers Guild in Davis, California for several years in the 1990s and his video lectures are still used by the Guild for their professional training courses.

Will has worked as Master Brewer for such breweries as Thomas Kemper, Aviator Ales (Seattle), Norwester Brewing (Portland, OR), Orange County Brewery (CA), Mile High Brewing (Denver), Dock Street Brewing (Philadelphia), Capital City Brewing (Washington DC), as well as several others. For most of these breweries he engineered and supervised construction, startup, and created recipes. Needless to say, he is an actual brewmaster!

Chuckanut Beer Out & About in November

The month of November is promising to be challenging, yet exciting time for Chuckanut Brewery and their beer! For the first time in company history Chuckanut Brewery will be partnering up with the Friday Harbor House for their Chuckanut Beer Dinner on Nov 2 at the Friday Harbor House on San Juan Islands. Chuckanut Brewery will also be attending the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) Winter Beer Taste on Nov 9, and the Skagit Wine & Beer Festival on Nov 16.

The Chuckanut Beer Dinner held at Friday Harbor House includes a menu designed by Executive Chef Aaron Rock and guest Sous Chef Troy Thomas. Their special menu has been created to highlight four Chuckanut beers. The food menu will pair house smoked King Salmon with Kolsch, Stuffed Calamari is with Vienna Lager and coffee rubbed Pork Tenderloin paired with Alt as the entrée. Chuckanut Porter was hand-selected by Chef Rock to be paired with Chocolate Soufflé for dessert. TheFriday Harbor House offers an intimate setting to relax and features favorite island activities located at 130 West Street, FridayHarbor, WA 98250. Contact Friday Harbor House for reservations.

This year the PNA Beer Taste will include over 30 PNW breweries. This annual event runs 7-10pm (preview tasting begins at6:15) and is located at the Phinney Center, Blue Building, 6532 Phinney Ave N in Seattle. The Skagit Wine & Beer Festival in Mt Vernon is a new winter event including Washington breweries and wineries. Gourmet appetizers, chocolates, and cheese along with samples from the breweries and wineries will be offered. Bottle sales will be included at this fun gathering from 4-8pm at the Best Western Cotton Tree Inn, Mt Vernon.