Tag Archive for: chuckanut brewery

Spring is in the air, the sun is showing its bright face bringing beer to our mind! Chuckanut has the crispies to keep you going as the weather warms and you get more active. The newest Chuckanut collaboration is with Zeeks Pizza called Zealander Pilsner. The big kahuna of this sessionable pilsner is New Zealand grown hops Rakau and Wai-Iti. These hops play together to give the beer a mixture of stonefruit, lemon and lime notes against a malt backbone of classic German Weyermann malts. Crisp, hoppy, and bold the Zealander Pilsner is begging to be had with your next slice of pizza.

Chuckanut’s Irish Dry Stout will be out soon, just in time to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Different from our regular winter seasonal Stout this traditional Irish style stout has an espresso-like flavor from the use of roasted malts. Lower in alcohol, it finishes dry and crisp and is made for celebrating. Very similar in tastes to the granddaddy of all stouts “Guinness” but more local!

Marzen Lager (March Bier) appears later in March to help celebrate spring. In Germany, this style was held in ice caves and brought out in March at the beer gardens. Amber and incomparably smooth with a round and slightly sweet palate, its spicy flavors complement the deep toffee-like aroma. Chuckanut Marzen has an appetizing bitterness that serves to balance rather than challenges the malt underpinnings. Its complicated malt bill makes this traditional Marzen one of the most tantalizing of lagers! Great with burgers and bbq now that the weather is changing and we start grilling.

Don’t forget the Doppelbock that was released for Valentine’s day. Third, in our big bier series, this is a smooth, dark rich lager with lots of dark, dried fruit flavors, and a balanced clean finish. Watch out for this beer with its 7.4% ABV it’s a lot easier to drink than you think!

Citra Leaf Pilsner continues its role as the hoppy lager of choice. Using Yakima Chief Citra Leaf hops in a basic Chuckanut Pilsner recipe this beer is for the hophead that wants a clean, citrus-inspired crispy Pilsner. Chuckanut intends to continue to brew this delightful hoppy lager year-round. If you don’t see it in your favorite beer joint, ask for it. It’s becoming a big favorite of Chuckanut fans.

Wow it’s getting cold out there and Chuckanut Brewery has some awesome biers to warm you up starting with the Bock Bier. This strong, full bodied lager has been aged in the fermentation tank for almost 3 months. Chuckanut bock has notes of dark stone fruits with a smooth finish. Some describe Bock as a lighter weight barley wine. Following on the heels of the Bock will be the Baltic Porter, due out after December 16. Another heavy weight in the world of lagers (yes it’s really a lager beer) Chuckanut Baltic Porter has an ABV of over 8% but goes down deceptively easy. Even more body than the Bock and darker brown, almost black in color, the Baltic Porter was brewed by Baltic countries who liked the English Porter and the Russian Imperial Stouts. They used their lager yeast to brew this heavy duty strong lager. Chuckanut has bottles of Bock now and will have the Baltic Porter in bottles just in time for Christmas.

Chucknaut Stout is the seasonal ale for winter at Chuckanut Brewery. The 2019 rendition of Stout has notes of coffee, roasted malts and chocolate. A small addition of oats amp up the creamy mouthfeel without becoming overly sweet and a velvety smoothness coats the palate with hints of biscuit and toast. The malts in this Stout are an international affair with Pilsner, Munich (German), Chocolate and Roast Malts (UK and Argentina) and Oats (USA). German hops provide a clean bitterness while accenting the roasted flavors. A perfect Stout for our wet weather!

Citra Leaf Pilsner continues to please local hop heads with it’s Yakima Chief Citra Leaf hops highlighted in a Chuckanut basic pilsner recipe. Lots of citrus flavors and aromas in a clean, crisp and effervescent lager make this beer easy to drink and super refreshing.

The new Italian Style Pilsner comes out the week of December 16. This collaboration lager with friends at Chuck’s Hop Shop highlights the up and coming new style of Pilsner originated in Italy with Tipopils from Birrificio Italiano in Italy. Chuckanut has used Italian grown Pilsner malt to lay down a backbone that delivers graininess and slight honey sweetness. But the star of the show is the Noble hops: Hal­lertau Perle & Tradition for a clean bitterness and Tettanger & Saaz for flavor and aroma. This is a German Pilsner on steroids! A highly drinkable lager with huge notes of spicy and herbal hops.

Time to get out those hoodies and jackets, the sun is getting lower in the sky and it’s time for Oktoberfest! Fall is in the air and now’s the time for a change in beers. Chuckanut’s modern Fest Bier is out in the market already. Fest Bier is made to reflect the current Oktoberfest beers brewed in Germany, a golden lager meant to be consumed in liter sizes. But if you are looking for the old Marzen style Oktoberfest beer you are in luck. Chuckanut’s Old Fest will be out in the market soon. It’s fun to have both the Old Fest and Fest Bier on tap at the same time to experience the difference between old and new. Old Fest has an amber color, lots of malt flavors and a bit more rich than the Fest Bier. Similar ABV’s but a difference in color and flavor these two make great options for any Oktoberfest or fall beer drinking activities.

If you haven’t tried Chuckanut’s answer to the Bitburger Pilsner Challenge of making a German style pilsner lager you need to. If you had a blindfold on while drinking Nutburger you could swear you were sitting in a local German bierstube. Nutburger Pilsner is perfect to quench your thirst or accompany a good meal. With an ABV of 4.9% you can easily drink this one from a liter mug on your patio! Milder in flavor and strength than our normal Pilsner it’s a nice change and more delicate in than most Bohemian style pilsners. If you are looking to change up your Pilsner options this one’s for you.

With the Great American Beer Festival coming up our usual German style beers are coming out. Here’s your chance to catch up on the beers you love from Chuckanut. The collection includes Helles Lager (golden breakfast beer from Munich), Dunkel Lager (dark and delicious full of chocolate and coffee flavors), Mexican Style Lager (perfectly light in style and body, great with a dash of lime), Dortmunder, Rauch Helles, Rye Lager, Sticke Alt (dangerously smooth but high in ABV) and of course our regular Pilsner, Kolsch and Vienna Lager.

The Scarlet Ale (previously known as Ruby Ale) has returned as our seasonal ale for late summer to fall season. Considered uncommon in the world of beers today Chuckanut is excited to rediscover this old English style, sessionable ale. Its medium body is highlighted by toasted malt flavors balanced with hops, making Chuckanut Scarlet Ale a satisfying any-time-of-day tipple!

Chuckanut Brewery has been awarded 6 medals at the North American Beer Awards this year. The brewery received 3 Gold medals and 3 Silver medals from the 23^rd annual blind tasting competition held in Idaho. Chuckanut’s Export Dortmunder Lager, Asian Style Lager and Alt Bier all won gold medals while the Mexican Style Lager, Maibock and Rye Lager all won silver medals.

Gold medal winning Chuckanut Export Dortmunder Lager is a burnished honey gold with a firm maltiness, medium-body, slightly sweet palate and a clean, dry finish. Dortmunder’s alcohol strength is stronger than Pilsner at 5.8% ABV. This beer style has been nearly lost in history as World War II was very hard on Dortmund and the beer was not brewed much after the war, Chuckanut tries to brew this delicious beer at least once a year. Chuckanut Asian Style Lager, gold medal winner, is brewed in collaboration with the Din Tai Fung Restaurants in Washington and Oregon. True to Asian style beers this lager is made with rice flakes for a light body, straw color, crisp and refreshing balanced lager. Balanced noble hops makes this the perfect accompaniment to Chinese style dumplings! This is the second gold medal for Alt Bier at NABA. The traditional German style old ale is malty with a snappy, hoppy finish and deep bronze in color, great with any kind of bratwurst.

Silver medal winning Mexican Style Lager is described as “sunshine in a glass”. Bright gold and using wheat malt from Skagit Valley makes this beer fresh and local as well as refreshing and sessionable. Maibock, silver medal winner, is the May Bock beer famous in Germany. Dark stone fruits, rich in body but light in color with moderate bitterness balancing out a slightly sweet, malt bill is easy to drink due to a lengthy lagering period of over 3 months. Rye Lager has won it’s first silver medal. Brewed rarely at Chuckanut this beautiful spicy amber lager is deep golden in color with lots of spicy flavors due to the generous portions of rye malt and spalt hops. The spicy rye bitterness is rounded out with a creamy finish for a unique lager. Enjoy all of Chuckanut’s well-made beers around Washington and Oregon states, prost!

Now that spring has finally sprung we’re happy to announce some great Chuckanut Beers that will be available. We’ve got a new Single Hop Lager, New World Hop Ale, Mexican Style Lager, and don’t forget the Maibock (the last in the big lager series). Along with the new beers we have some other one offs that are only available every now and then. And don’t forget our standard award winning beers for some very morish (you want to drink more and more of them) European Ales and Lagers.

First up is the new Single Hop Lager: Vic Secret is the single hop that’s used in this reoccurring lager exploring hops from around the world! Have you tried it yet. The last Single Hop was with Citra, now’s your chance to see what Vic Secret from Australia is like in a clean lager beer. When Brewmaster Will Kemper was in Australia they went to the hop farm that created Vic Secret. That hop farm is located in the state of Victoria and wanted to call the hop they created Victoria Secret. But they double thought that and instead called it Vic Secret!! It’s a very aromatic, fruit forward hop with great flavors of pineapple and citrus. Clean and bright with fruit aromas and notes in the taste alot of beer drinkers will love this for spring. It’s only in limited quantities and available at the Chuckanut locations and select accounts around the Sound.

The New World Hop Ale is out and it has lots of fruity aromas and tastes from new style German hops with a nice bitterness at the end. If you haven’t tried this seasonal ale it’s time to get a taste. Only German hops are used including Hull Melon and Hallertau Blanc for the fruity notes of melon and berries while Polaris gives it that nice bitter finish. This is the Seasonal Ale and will only be available til mid May.

Mexican Style Lager is on it’s way, just in time for Cinco de Mayo! This Chuckanut Seasonal Lager is ready early this year so you can enjoy it for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations. A true style Mexican lager like Bohemia, there’s just enough malt to give it body but light enough to drink for multiple toasts. This is sunshine in a glass!

Skagit Harvest Ale is a bit different this year. Made in honor of Skagit Valley it uses a selection of Skagit Valley malts including Francin Pilsner Malt, inspired by malts made in the Czech Republic. Spicy noble Czech Saaz hops amplify the spicy character of the skagit rye malt used as well. Golden and full of flavor this is an intriguing Czech American Hybrid Pale Ale!

And don’t forget the last of the big beer series Maibock heads to accounts and Chuckanut locations next week. This fuller bodied deep golden lager has been aged more than 3 months in fermentation tanks. Maibock (May Beer) is lighter in color then the other bocks, has a moderate bitterness balancing rich, bready flavors that are malt forward and strong. Watch out because this bock is dangerously drinkable.

For those that like dark beers you can find Dunkel Lager (the most awarded beer in WA state at the GABF!), Schwarz bier (black lager that even though it’s dark finishes really clean with espresso like notes) and Sticke Alt (high alcohol Alt made with more ingredients and aged longer, a bit pricey but well worth it!) around the Sound. Ethan’s Table Saison and a few Helles Lager can be found around the Sound too. These are light, sessionable, amazingly delicious beers. Ethan’shas a low ABV 2.7% but has alot of traditional farmhouse flavors while the Helles is a sparkling rendition of the Munich’s favorite beer drunk in liter mugs.

If you are looking for amber beers look no further than Alt (German style ale, dark amber in color with a spicy hop finish), Vienna Lager (the perfect malty yet light lager) and for a bit longer Chuckanut’s Marzen Lager (this is the traditional style of the Oktoberfest beers, malty and tantalizing).Whatever Chuckanut beer you drink it’s sure to be awesome and delicious!