Chuckanut Brewery closing Portland taproom P-Nut
Bellingham, Washington founded, and Burlington, WA-based, Chuckanut Brewery, is closing their Portland taproom lovingly called “P-Nut” this fall. Chuckanut is one of Washington’s most award-winning breweries, and indisputably the most award-winning and influential larger brewery in the Pacific Northwest.
Founded by Will and Mari Kemper in 2008, the brewery has stayed true to their German roots by brewing nearly all European-style Lagers and only slightly straying from the classic, clean, and traditional Lagers from time-to-time. Their commitment to quality has spawned and influenced Brewers across the country, with former Chuckanut Brewers like Kevin Davey (Wayfinder Beer and now Gold Dot Beer/Heater Allen), Josh Pfriem (pFriem Family Brewers), and Brian Cardwell (Structures Brewing), just to name a few.
Chuckanut Brewery surprised their fans when they announced in 2021 that they were closing their original home base brewpub in Bellingham, Washington to focus on their production facility with tasting room in Burlington, and skipping over larger and closer to home markets like Seattle to instead open a location in Portland. The announcement of the “P-Nut” taproom located in recently vacated office space in their Oregon wholesaler Day One Distribution’s building at 9th and Carruthers, near the Eastside train tracks, was met with great fanfare and excitement by the Oregon beer community which had already shown strong support for their cans, bottles, and draft beer which had begun showing up in town in the last few years.
Possibly because of the pandemic, probably partly because of the slightly off-the-beaten path location in a relatively sterile space, Chuckanut has struggled to capture the business of their neighbors at Baerlic Brewing and The Beermongers. Rumors of Chuckanut vacating their taproom space for another have been circulating in the beer community for months, before Day One Distro insider Warren Wills confirmed the news on Tuesday. Based on a quote provided to Wills, co-owner/brewmaster Will Kemper indicates that the P-Nut location was a money drain for the company, while distribution sales to accounts remain strong: “The main reason we are leaving is to get a bigger canning line and be more available to all the Chuckanut fans throughout WA and OR. It cost a lot of money to expand and this expansion into cans is a result of the contraction of our in-person presence in Portland.”
Chuckanut Brewery P-Nut Taproom will close after service on Saturday, October 26th 2024. Until then you can visit and enjoy their world-class lagers at 920 SE Caruthers St, Portland, Oregon 97214, open Monday - Friday from 4-9pm, and Saturday from 12-9pm, closed on Sundays.