Even for those of you old enough to remember Thomas Kemper beer, not just the soda, you may not have known that there never was a Thomas Kemper. Instead the name came from the family names of the two founders, Andy Thomas and Will Kemper, who began brewing on Bainbridge Island in 1984 and soon after moved the brewery to the small town of Poulsbo, Washington, on the Kitsap Penninsula. My wife and I visited the brewery on our honeymoon in the summer of 1996. That was four years after it had been sold to Hart Brewing (later Pyramid Brewing). Initially ales were made under the Pyramid label and lagers under Thomas Kemper. For a trip down memory lane, check out their old labels at Corey and Nate’s Beer Labels website. Rande Reed, in fact, was the brewer there early on but later moved to Pyramid and then Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, before returning to musical pursuits.
But I was never sure what happened to the founders after their involvement ended. In turns out Will Kemper became a brewery consultant, helping launch such breweries as Philadelphia’s Dock Street, Seattle’s Aviator Ales, Capital City Brewing in D.C. and Denver’s Mile High Brewing. For the last year or so, Will and his wife Mari have been in Turkey, building a brewery in Istanbul called Taps. Now that the Taps project is completed they’ve returned to their home in Bellingham, Washington with plans to open a new brewery there this spring. It will be located in the Old Town part of town and have a capacity of 1,000 barrels, with expansion to 5,000 possible if successful. The new name will be Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen, and the plan is to have six different beers and a lunch and dinner menu.
Not to pick nits, but Poulsbo is not a small town on Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge Island is an island, and incorporated city, in Kitsap County. Poulsbo is a separate incorporated city north of Bainbridge Island, on Kitsap Penninsula. If I have my history straight, TK started on Bainbridge and moved to Poulsbo at some later date.
I have very fond memories of the old TK brewery in Poulsbo. You could get a sandwich and a beer, eat on a picnic table outside, and play horseshoes, frisbee or volleyball in the yard. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.
Brad Ginn
Poulsbo, WA
Brad,
I appreciate the clarification. It’s been eleven years. I remember taking a ferry with our rental car and driving past an Indian casino (I don’t why that sticks in my memory). I think I assumed that we were still on an island in Poulsbo.
We also sat out back and had our lunch while we played horseshoes. A fond memory.
I’m another with fond memories of the rustic little TK brewery with the picnic tables out front.
I persuaded my game and good natured parents to endure that little detour one summer day while
I was home for a visit. My mom pronounced the beer, “not bad” – as ringing an endorsement as
one could hope for from someone who could never understand the appeal of a beverage so “bitter.”
Memories of my folks are all I have now. This one, improbably involving a brewery, brings a smile to
my face even now.
Hi, I just found this via a Google while researching/correcting the (craptastic) Wikipedia entry on Thomas Kemper… I’d like to point out that labels at Corey and Nate’s site are from the Pyramid Brewing era, not original ‘Kemper’ labels.
That being said, I’ll chime in with those above who miss the Kemper brewpub… Me and a bunch of friends spent many a Friday evening in the pub, and many a summer Saturday afternoon out in the yard.