This week – Last Call with BrewDad is Will Kemper from Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen in Bellingham, WA. This has been a fun series and the brewers are coming out of the barrels to answer these impelling questions of the day.
71. What was your first beer you ever drank?
Something like a Bud, Miller or the like. My much older brother stored his beer in a basement fridge so when I was six or so I grabbed one.
82. What was your first Craft Beer you ever had and what did you think?
When Anchor Steam was a small Craft Brewery I had one and appreciated the uniqueness and difference from a mass produced product.
3. How did you get start in brewing? Homebrewer? Etc??? What was the first batch you ever made?
I started as a homebrewer in Boulder Colorado where I went to school. The recipe was from a Fred Eckardt book. It had to of been a pale ale or something fairly straight forward like that.
4-1. What is your favorite beer you have ever made? And why?
There is a time and place for every beer. There are approximately half a dozen of our beers that I feel are my best (favorite of mine), but it is dependent upon too many factors. To say only one is a too limiting, almost an absurd concept to me. I love lobster but having that all the time would undoubtedly lower my desire for it to the point of dislike.
5c. If you had to live for the rest of your life with only drinking one beer and not one of your own. Who and what beer/brewery?
This would be such a tragic consideration. However in considering this it would have to be a very drinkable well made product. Otherwise too rich or full of a product, while seemingly a favorite beer at another time, would become cloying on the pallet to the point of “not quite as satisfying”. So let’s go with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier in Germany–not the one available in America after it’s been abused with travel and storage. However, there could be quite a few more valid options.
6d-1. What is your favorite beer style?
Like 4-1 above I cannot truthfully answer one.
998. Favorite sport and team?
I grew up loving baseball so it has to be the Mariners. When I was young it was the Giants, but because I have lived in the Seattle area for so long I have gravitated towards the Mariners. This is also quite a tragic state of affairs.
9. What is your ultimate session beer?
For me an ultimate session time (which would also be a factor in answering this question) is a summery time soaking up the warmth. Our Kolsch is amongst the best in the world and is appropriate for such a time.
A) What music do love to listen to while brewing?
I enjoy many kinds of music. I have lived overseas for many years and have become fond of Brazilian, European, as well as U.S. music. I love Diana Krall.
420. What is the craziest ingredient you have added while brewing?
I am more of a traditional classical brewer so I tend not to add crazy things. This is due to my personal taste preferences as well as an understanding regarding the science of taste and flavor and what is actually realized. Too often the romance or positive taste associated with certain flavors is only present in the descriptor. The actual taste at the end of the process for so many ingredients is not there or in a form totally different than what is intended or desired. The impact of the brewing process and the final chemistry of the product rarely result in what was truly attempted.
24. Favorite hop(s)
Tettnang Tettnanger
13. What is your go to liquor?
Liquor and wine, while I enjoy both, are too acidic for me. I cannot drink much of either before it hurts so I rarely drink anything other than beer.
77. Favorite Movie(s)
Silver Linings Playbook has become my favorite.
15. What is your favorite movie Quote?
In the Fugitive when Tommy Lee Jones has Harrison Ford backed up and is about to get him, Harrison Ford says something like I did not kill my wife. Tommy Lee Jones says “I don’t care” in such a way that you know he does not care. The point is that he is so focused on his mission that nothing will stand in the way. I know this may seem like an odd quote, but realizing the need to truly focus at times is what makes a person go a bit further to ultimately break out.
17. Morning person or Night person?
I should not drink too much beer in the morning so let’s say I am a night person because I can then drink, appreciate, and love my beer.
44. What is your favorite Hot sauce?
From Mexico there is a sauce called Huichel. I used to love hot sauce quite a bit, but due to my travels I have contracted all sorts of bad stomach problems over the years. I cannot tolerate too hot of a sauce any more as it tends to eat me instead of me eating it.
Thank you Will for your honesty and great answers. I wish you the best in your brewing and for one who has had your beer your beers are super and some of the best I have ever had.
