It allows us to give breweries feedback on what we think will be popular and they get to experiment with much less risk. We also collaborate with several different breweries on exclusive releases. I consider many things while purchasing like shelf life, packaging dates, pricing, perceived demand and how best to cultivate a healthy relationship with our brewery and distributor partners. I think by sharing the responsibility with many people we can offer a more diverse selection. Our team of managers alternates the packaged beer ordering and I order all of the draft beer and new items.

Can you talk us through what it’s like to manage that process? What are the biggest things you consider in your buying position specifically? Chuck’s has an extensive selection of beer at any given time, so we can imagine that buying the product is a massive undertaking. We’re a small business so I’m required to take on many roles, but my most important one is that of our beer buyer. We offer 62 taps, approximately 1,000 packaged beers, rotating food trucks and we’re family friendly. I am the General Manager at one of Seattle’s best craft beer bottle shops. How would you describe what you do and where you work (for those that don’t already know)? I was already passionate about beer Chuck gave me the freedom and support to explore and try to innovate. I had a few friends that had left a previous job to work for Chuck’s and they got me in the door. That lead me to seek out Chuck’s to try some of the beers he had brewed. A person I went to high school with was a brewer at Portland’s Alameda Brewery. JW: My craft beer story started like many others, trying everything in the beer aisle at QFC (a supermarket chain in Washington and Oregon).

PD: First things first: Where does your story with craft beer begin? How did you get to where you are now? We caught up with Jordan to figure out what a day in his life is like and to hear more about how it all began, what’s in his glass and what we can expect from in terms of upcoming trends and breweries. White’s job is simple: Maintain Chuck’s status as the place to go for the broadest, most exciting beer selection in Seattle. Needless to say, they keep themselves busy.Īll of this is in part due to Chuck’s General Manager, Jordan White. They’ve also started partnering with local breweries to put out collaboration beers that are available for sale in the taproom. Chuck’s also has a plethora of tap takeovers: days on which their selection features the best sours, IPAs or stouts from across the Pacific Northwest. You see, at Chuck’s, there is always something new to try, whether you’re looking for something to take home or something to enjoy on the Chuck’s patio. Though the Chuck’s staff makes running this establishment look easy, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes.

As a result, Chuck’s has cemented itself as a pillar of the Pacific Northwest craft community in the four years since its founding. It’s where you go for an incredible and ever-rotating selection with dozens of beers on tap and hundreds of bottles available to go as well as knowledgeable and approachable bartenders that are eager to give recommendations on what brews simply cannot be missed. Chuck’s Hop Shop, which has two locations in the Emerald City, has gained a reputation for being the fan-favorite, no-frills watering hole and bottle shop for craft beer fanatics. If you love Seattle’s craft beer scene, you love Chuck’s Hop Shop-it’s as simple as that.

Chucks hop shop