Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen

As strangers to the town of Bellingham we chose this place based on the reviews, and boy was it worth it! Their bread game is seriously on point, I ordered the clam chowder and was seriously surprised at how good the bread bowl was! The clam chowder was good to and sitting out side in the sun was great as well. I will definitely make another trip to Bellingham and when i do I will be stopping off for another visit to the brewery!

One of our favorite new traditions (beer-​wise, that is) is to hit Chuckanut on Mondays when their amazing beer is just $ 3/​pint. Their mostly German-​themed brews have probably won more awards than any brewery in Bellingham. I know for a fact that their Kolsch has won Gold at GABF multiple times. And the best deal in town has to be their pickled eggs which are only a buck. I’ve tried a half dozen of their entrée items, including their burger, and it’s some of the best bar food in town. With the addition of the new Southnut facility in Skagit County, their beer production is getting set to ramp up significantly. Such a fortuitous addition to the Bellingham beer scene.

I haven’t made it to Chuckanut in Bellingham until my third trip here. I was too busy chasing other breweries at the time. Steven was also here before and said it wasn’t one of his favorite breweries in town but I actually really liked it.
The beer is pretty solid… maybe not the best that I had on this recent brewery outing but solid. Chuckanut also serves food which is awesome because we were starving by the time we made it here.
I got the Meatloaf which was fantastic along with mashed potatoes and some veggies. The portions are not too overwhelming but not too skimpy either. It was just right.
As far as the beer goes it was solid, like I said. We split a pilsner which complimented my meal very well and was pretty tasty.
Not such a bad place. Steve enjoyed it more this time too!

Great authentic German Beer — Kolsch and Dunkel beers — eclectic food choices — pickled eggs, cured sausages, garlic flatbread — all awesome.
Definitely will return!

First time visit. Had a very enjoyable time. Food and service were very good. Sampled a few tasty brews.

Fantastic beer, very friendly staff. Has the pleasure of doing a flight, would highly recommend it.

Second brewery we decided to go to while in Bellingham.
Chuckanut has a somewhat mythical status in the craft beer world since they are primarily a lager craft brewer. Their reputation definitely preceded them. I was expecting greatness, and it fell a little short.
But with that said the food was absolutely phenomenal. I had heard that it was good, but where the beer fell short, the food more than made up for it. Fresh ingredients, and very skillfully made.
Beer snob review:
The flight was OK, nothing too special. The pilsener while great on its own, doesn’t complement the food very well and was overly bitter (weird for a pilsener I know). The rest of the flight was good but again, not life altering. I was expecting more from a brewery with their reputation.
Definitely worth checking out!

Overpriced overall for mediocre food but the beer was awesome. Would I come back again? Probably not… Unless it’s just to grab a beer. Staff was friendly but nothing spectacular.

We’ve been here twice. The food is good and the beer is AMAZING! I just had the Bock Lager which might be the single best beer I’ve ever had… deliciously malty.
The first time we came here last summer the waitress/​greeter caused a weird mixup about whether they had seats available or not. They did, but she said their kitchen couldn’t handle the load so we had to wait. First we weren’t allowed to sit outside and wait, but then we were. Then others were seated because another waitress took people to the obviously open seats. Frustrating and insulting.
The last time a couple weeks ago they mixed up my wife’s order so she didn’t get her food for 10 minutes and we all waited for her order to come.
But… like I said… it’s worth it for the beer. I home brew and I’d trade them my truck for their Bock Lager recipe.

Top notch beers– they consistently win awards especially for their kolsch. Not your typical northwest style beers. More European. Food for the most part is quite good. I recommend the meat loaf or beerbaque chicken burger. Oh yeah, pretzels. Great pretzels! Pleasant atmosphere– I especially like the area in the back that seems to be rarely open. Nice patio on the side as well, it’s an OK place to go with kids– trains go by fairly often and they have crayons, coloring paper and a basket of toys at the front.
Oh yeah, great desserts too — I think they always have some sort of bread pudding which is really tasty.

No french fries! :(sad
I got ahi burger and side of potato chips.
Overall the meal was oily. and got sick afterwards.
Beer was very good though!
We can come back for the beer:)

Stopped in a an early dinner. Got the beer drinkers meal; chose the curry wurst. Washed it down with their Pilsner. Simple meal; great flavor, good beer and wonderful service. Just what I needed after a long day. Great spot.

Service was phenomenal. Our waitress was as friendly as can be.
The food came out quick, and was absolutely delicious. We had the chicken nachos, clam chowder, ahi appetizer, reuben and crème brule. Not one dish disappointed.
Great atmosphere, great food, great service. We will definitely be back!

There are items on the food menu here that beckon me to return. The South of the Border Yamburrito is at the top of the list. This is a popular farm-​to-​table venue that consistently participates in the Eat Local Challenge during the month of September each year. The good news is that the establishment offers locavores fresh, local, seasonal menu items all year long.
If you’re a beer connoisseur, you can indulge in a variety of award winning lagers and ales. $ 3 pints on Mondays and happy hour 4 – 6. They also brew IPAs, Kolsch, Pilsners and stouts. If you get hooked, you can buy a growler or keg to take home with you to share (or not!). Plus, if you find yourself in Seattle, there are taverns where their beer is sold.
The Chuchanut Brewery location is on the waterfront near downtown, but it is tucked in between industrial/​port facilities that lack appeal. On the positive side, it has its own FREE parking. There is outside and inside seating. The back beer garden has pool tables and dart boards. A more traditional bar is in the front room.
The service was wonderful on my most recent visit. I indulged in a cup of red curry squash and pumpkin soup and then continued my glutton spree with a small bowl of mac and cheese (which was quite big). The former was slightly sweet because of the coconut infused into the recipe. The latter seemed quite bland at first, but the subtle cheese flavor grew on me after a few bites. With so many alluring items on the menu, I’m certain I’ll be back to sample more.

Thanks to me and the hubster’s attempt to complete the Bellingham Tap Trail, I gave Chuckanut another chance a few months ago and have been back several times since. I’m pleased to report their service has never been better. We are always greeted quickly and with smiles. Their beer is still good (I’m a fan of the rich and malty Alt Bier, the closest thing they have to a Brown Ale) and I’m absolutely addicted to their pickled egg appetizer. Now that the Bham beer scene is growing by leaps and bounds, it’s good to see Chuckanut kicking it up a couple of notches and delivering a good experience for us beer snobs. I’m looking forward to checking out their Oktoberfest celebration next week during Bellingham Beer Week!

This was my second time here and I loved it even more! The first time I came as part of #thekordellsbellinghampubcrawl2015 to have some beer & banana bread pudding. The pudding was so good that we came back for dinner on our next visit to Bellingham.
Since it was nice out, we sat on the back patio (there were six of us) and enjoyed the food, weather but not the loud train noises as much (the train tracks are one block away).
I was famished and the menu looked great that I ordered a five-​course meal, so to speak:
1. Pickled egg — served with jalapeños, perfect yolk, great pickled flavor (hubby thinks it was dill)
2. Terra verde soup with rye bread — seasonal soup that was a blended stock of summer veggies + garlic + paprika
3. Scallop pesto pasta — seasons pasta with penne noodles, superfood pesto made with kale and spinach, lightly fried small scallops
4. Banana bread pudding! With homemade whipped cream, cinnamon
5. Chocolate brownie — two brownies stacked with strawberries between them, whipped cream
Since I was going to keel over from being tired, I decided to stick with iced tea rather than beer to give me a caffeine boost. The iced tea (unsweetened) was fantastic! There’s also a robust beer and wine selection.
Good service, reasonable prices and great food selection. I’ll be back next time I’m in the area.
Bottom line, you must stop by for the banana bread pudding.

Decided to stop in «again» for another try & need a beer trail stamp. Disappointed again. Ordered a sampler to try all & if you do the math, the 4 sampler is less expensive than the 6 sampler & asked why & our server grumbled «I don’t set the prices.» The beer garden is set on the wrong side of the biulding & the neighbors are cat calling you over to their pub! The pickled egg with jalapeños was awesome!

The scotch ale is good enough to hang with the big boys, and the «Yam Alechilades» are easily the best item on the menu.
The draw backs to this joint are:
–The wait times. If you come in on a Friday or Saturday, expect a 15 – 20 minute wait. The place gets packed.
–the service is OK, but nothing to write home about. On 2 out of 4 visits, we felt rushed, ignored, or were treated like an inconvenience.
Let’s hope they find a steady groove with the customer service experience and they’ll be seeing more of me on visits to bellingham and another Unilocal star make an appearance.

We visited on a Tuesday at noon after a walk around Padden. Menus, then beers, were promptly delivered. I really enjoyed the IPA, and my picky wife raved about the Vienna lager, which is a darker amber color than is typical.
They have a serviceable, even nice, restaurant area, despite the country music that encouraged us to kill ourselves. My wife decreed the Caesar salad the best she’d ever had. Further, she is a mac n cheese connoisseur, and reckoned Chuckanut’s made the short list. I had the reuben with a green salad, and it ruled. The sandwich needed more Russian dressing, so it was just a hair on the dry side, but that’s nitpicking. They serve a quality sandwich here.
I enjoyed sitting by the glass roll-​up door and watching the guys load kegs into the trailer-​truck. We’ll certainly be visiting again.

Sat at the bar…
Amazing service, the server at the bar was great!
I had the Reubin sandwich and the «British» #ipa .
The Rueben was great! Highly recommend for a sandwich. I opted for the sweet potato fries. Eh, they were OK.
They had a number of their beers on tap, and tried the «British» IPA, which was less hoppy than I used to in «American» IPAs. But it was good & I had a second.
I saw that if your here in Friday, they have liter steins! (no driving after that one!)