Chumley's Pub

Chumley's PubChumley's Pub
Chumley's PubChumley's Pub
Bar, Eatery

122 N 3rd St
Lafayette, Indiana, 47901-1254
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.92
Reviews:
21
Ratings:
29
pDev:
11.48%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.38 by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

Aug 08, 2017
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Reviewed by NoYouDidnt from Indiana

3.85/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.25
Vibe- rowdy pub/sports bar atmosphere. Tvs playing. Old wood furnishings. College kids coming in later on. A bit Crammed as the night goes on. Great place to get loud and a little sloppy. Beer quality- is good. Haven't had an ill tasting beer there. Have some proper glassware for certain styles. Service- is fine. Checked on regularly, even the people behind the bar aren't terribly knowledgeable about the beers. Selection- lots to choose from. No trouble finding a beer I want there. They have plenty of beers to go in a schooner too. (Nice to get a little sloppy sometimes). The food- is tasty. It is standard sports bar type things. Good onion rings, fries, hummus, burgers, nachos, philly cheese steaks. Good tasting cheesy, greasy, fatty foods. Overall, I dig chumleys somethin fierce. Kinda wanna go back soon.
Mar 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.81 by jhclauseiv from Indiana

Feb 28, 2016
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Reviewed by mlockman from Indiana

4.44/5  rDev +13.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Across the river from Purdue, students will come usually only on Mondays and Thursdays when a one-time purchase of a $6 schooner can be refilled from the tap at a discount ($3.75-priced pints are $2.00 to fill a 32 oz. schooner, and $4.75-priced pints are $5.75 to fill a 32 oz. schooner). The feel is definitively "sports-pub" and the food is great, but everybody comes for the 50 beers on tap (which rotate by season) and the 100+ bottles beer selection.
May 25, 2015
 
Rated: 4.41 by mwvman from Indiana

Apr 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.76 by Drwpiersonindy from Florida

Oct 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.6 by Clumsy from Indiana

Oct 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by vainqueur59 from Indiana

Jun 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by BeerLover99 from Illinois

Mar 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Katoptrizo from Indiana

Dec 03, 2013
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Reviewed by OSUBucksfan09 from Indiana

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
When I heard the name chumley's I thought of some dingy dirty place in some crap hole. Instead it turns out this is one of my favorite places to go.

They have good drink specials including schooner night where you can get a 32 ounce scooner fillled for 2 bucks. As well as all you can eat appetizers on sunday night for free. The selection of beer is good as well as they have 50 beers on tap from across the united states.

The atmosphere inside is very clean and looks like it was redone recently as it is in great condition.
Jun 07, 2012
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Reviewed by boilermakerbrew from Indiana

4.35/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Went there tonight because of the food special and to start my "Beer Passport."

Pretty good specials daily, both on food and drinks. Service was good, with quick drinks and help navigating the beer menu.

Beer menu is HUGE. 50 on tap, and 101 bottles offered. The "Beer Passport" club is pretty cool. It's free to attempt, and it involves having 50 of their passport eligible beers in a calendar year's time. If you do it, then you get a t-shirt and your name up at the bar. Also, they have Chimay available.

Food was good, and the specials won't break your bank.

Only downside was that most pints worth drinking are $4.75 and some are $5.75. That's not too bad, but to me, once you're over $4, you're getting a little pricey.

Overall, I will be back. Also, I hope to complete my passport in the coming year.
Jan 09, 2012
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Reviewed by TroopScoop from Indiana

3.88/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3
A: about as college like ur gonna get at a beer bar. Not bad. Gets crowded by specials.

Q: really good stuff. Seasonals, standards, imports. Its not old, its not musty. Usually fresh cause people drink it all.

S: over 100 beers on tap. What can I say? Something for everyone.

F: standard bar grub. Get the fish tacos, the lime zest yogurt for dipping is real good stuff.

V: get what you pay for on normal nights. The specials, like schooner night, really pay off. $5.75 for 32oz of gumballhead at a bar... yes please.
Dec 03, 2011
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Reviewed by jamescain from Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
I had been here a few times but the last time I went made me wish I went more often. I found out that on Tuesdays, I believe, is their Midwestern beer night. Which means that all Midwest beersare $3.25, this included GI BCBS! If only I had known before I moved away for good. The atmosphere is a mix of locals and college students. Personally I would avoid going on their scooner night because it is mostly just college students looking to get drunk off of bud light. The nice thing about that night is you can get a 22oz scooner of Arrogant Bastard for around $6. I only had their fries once so i'm not sure what their food is actually like, but those were standard pup fair. They have easily the best beer selection of all the bars in the area. With a large tap selection and a substantial bottle selection. Honestly the service was not the best. They were some what rude when asked about sampling a beer, before I invested in the entire pint. You can tell also that the servers are there to look pretty and not inform you on your purchase. Not that big of a deal though because I prefer to educate myself before I go to a bar and not rely on their knowledge. Their beers are slightly more expensive then other places offering the same stuff, but that is what you pay for when you go to the bar with the best selection. I would still highly recommend this bar if you are looking for something other than SA or SN.
Jul 25, 2011
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Reviewed by Gunslinger711 from Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 3
If I could give Chumley's a 6.0 for selection I would! 50 beers on tap, 100 beers in the bottle.

I moved to Lafayette from Grand Rapids, MI not too long ago. During the move I did my research to find the best place in town for beer.

I had Founders Breakfast Stout on tap, which made me a little homesick for GR and the actual Founders brewery. I had my first taste of Bourbon County Brand stout there, all delicious.

There's a schooner night for those of you who love drinking good beer out of huge mugs (and who doesn't?). And a passport club where you can get a membership card stamped when you drink certain international beers.

The atmosphere is cozy college bar/sports bar. The food is typical bar food, nothing awesome besides the fried pickles. Overall, awesome place for beer, average place for food.
Jan 20, 2011
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Reviewed by Vdubb86 from Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3
Frequented the bar during my college days at Purdue. Boiler Up! This place has the atmosphere of a nice sports bar that last I checked was friendly to smoking. The overall quality of the place is pretty decent. I had a friend who worked the door there and he had interesting behind the scenes stuff that I learned. That stuff doesn't necessarily make it a bad place it just makes it all the more interesting to me. The service sometimes was fantastic and sometimes wasn't, it really depended on who you got and we tipped accordingly. The food is bar food and honestly just get the appetizers. The real great part about this is that they boast 50 beers on tap. These are some quality brews too mind you. There are plenty more found in bottles. They have a Passport for the beers you get there, collect them all and get your name behind the bar...and a t-shirt. Myself and a few buddies were able to complete the challenge in about 3 months. Overall a fun place to hang out with friends, lots of good memories there!
Sep 15, 2010
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Reviewed by aasher from Indiana

4.53/5  rDev +15.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Chumley's is a sports bar located in Lafayette across the street from the courthouse. They are best known for their "Beer Tour Around the World". The challenge is to try their list of 100 beers in one year. They feature fifty beers on tap at all times, including quality craft beers as well as macro brews. They also have an extensive bottles list. They have specials every day. On the weekend they have special Indiana beer prices, featuring Three Floyd's, Upland, Back Road Brewery, Sun King, and more. Aside from their wide array of beer, they also have excellent food. I go there on Sundays during the football season, where they have every NFL game on at least one television. They have excellent burgers, pizza, and sandwhiches. Chumley's is a great place to stop for lunch or to go at night. They have schooner night on Tuesdays and Thursdays, featuring a 32oz glass schooner. The schooner is $6 I believe and refills are something like $3.25, of anything. This is a great place, I highly recommend it.
Jun 30, 2010
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Reviewed by pwoods from Ohio

3.64/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
This place reminded me of a nicer Beer Sellar type place, but I don't mean that in a bad way. They had lots of taps, I'd say nearly as many as Beer Sellar would have. The problem with that is a lot of them are boring imports and macro junk. They had have much more craft than a Beer Sellar would have but they were more on the generic or mainstream side of craft, which is pretty ok. Lots of Dead Guy and Prima Pils, that sort of thing. It was a pretty big place and the atmosphere was much more relaxed and comfortable than a Beer Sellar would be. Service and pricing were a step up as well. Not a bad place overall, especially if you're already in the neighborhood.
May 11, 2010
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Reviewed by Stewartr from Indiana

4/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3
Nice place to grab a brew and a bite on the way home from points afar, not too croweded on a week night and the staff were very responsive. Nice venue right in the middle of downtown though the sidwalks seeem to rollup around 6 or so.

The TAP selection is very good, though a little heavy on Indiana beers which tend to be somewhat uncreative to a hophead like myself. They seem to keep their taps very clean and it was nice to taste the citrus highlights in the Bells brew I sampled.

If for nothing else I will be visiting again on my next trip to Lafayette for the really exceptional beer selection. Just dont ask the waitstaff any beer questions, I asked for an ipa got a confused stare and she offered something more akin to a scotch ale.
Mar 19, 2010
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Reviewed by manahansf from Indiana

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Great place to watch our Boilers play and relax with a good brew. Huge selection of draft beer! A good deal of the draft brews are typical macros but there are still a ton of crafts. I even had a milk stout out of their nitro tap! They also have a ton of bottles! With such a huge selection its hard to go wrong! One major problem for a beer geek though is the smoking. Lafayette has not restricted smoking from bars and Chumley's supports the smokers in the area. Fine, it really doesn't bother me at all besides the fact I cannot evaluate the beer at all. Every review would be a nose of smoke and taste of ash. But its still a great place to grab a tasty brew and watch some Boilermaker sports.
Mar 09, 2010
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Reviewed by tippebrewcrew2 from Indiana

3.28/5  rDev -16.3%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 2.5
I've been going here for about 3 years off and on. When first walking in the bar is rather huge. 50 taps behind the wall is pretty cool thing to see. Lets get the no no's out of the way first. Very smokey bar making it close to impossible to get a taste for the beer. College kid frat guy presence that claim to know the world of drinking beer as they sit down next to you bud light in hand. The servers know very little about the menu and beer in general.

Now lets get to the good stuff! 50 beers always on tap from 2 hearted to hopslam to breakfast stout (yielding its in season). They also have a about 100 different beers in bottles. It's a bit pricey for the most part but there are drink specials on certain nights and what not. This is one of the places I got my start, but I think thats all this places is. A place to start. The food or the dense layer of smoke isn't going to bring me back anytime soon.
Feb 11, 2010
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Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Being a Boilermaker, I might be somewhat biased, but ask me what I think of the other bars in the Lafayette area and you'll know how wrong such an assumption is. Still, having spent four years at Purdue, two-and-a-half of them drinking years, I made it my business to come here. Firts off, the selection is fantastic: 50 taps, with many, many more brews available in bottles. The selection ranges from banana lambics to blueberry wheats to imperial stouts to the usual macros. As this place is a college-town sports bar (so to speak), the lighting is low, there are screens playing the sports, and decently loud music playing in the background (though, if you ask me, the musical selection is pretty good, especially for such a bar). The service is hit-or-miss, depending on who you get. Some are very attentive, while others not so much, with beer knowledge on a highly sliding scale. The bartenders, though, are generally spot-on in both departments. The food is general sports bar fare and not too impressive, but not too bad either.
Overall, this place is a beer haven in the area, especially with their beer passport (50 beers in less than a semester). Trust me: my name's on that plaque. Give this place a try if you're in the Purdue area. Boiler up!
Feb 05, 2010
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Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

2.63/5  rDev -32.9%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 2 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5
Welp, I've moved in. Time to get my PhD, time to leave my homestate of Iowa for eastern Indiana. This is the sort of move that people from other areas cannot possibly understand, it seems so minor. But, oh, to us natives the differences are plentiful and conspicuous, however minor they may objectively be. Little differences are the worst. You forget that you're no longer in your element. I mean, if everyone is speaking another language then the fact that you are no longer Home and that nearly everything you want to do will have to be done differently is readily apparent. Here, it's easy to forget that.

Little differences: grocery stores cannot sell cold beer. When I asked where the cold beer was at the clerk looked at me as if I had just offered him a taste of my own poop.

Little difference: no take-home booze on Sundays. You know, for Jesus. Drink all you want at the bars and drive your drunk ass home, but don't you dare try to take any beer with you on the road.

Little difference: no one makes eye contact.

Little difference: there's a whorehouse in a strip mall about a mile from my apartment. The sign says "live lingerie modeling." Neat to have it out in the open like that, I guess.

Little difference: tones, tics, and timing. The gestures you make in one state signifying sarcasm or jocularity are not appreciated here. A foreign man always seems to be speaking in earnest.

This is getting unwieldy. My point is that it's hard to judge any beer bar. Standards are inherently subjective, of course, and therefore *subject* to changes in the reviewer's personal taste and experience. When I first started reviewing I remember saying that Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat was a unique flavor experience the likes of which could not be duplicated. Things change. Taste is contingent on experience and circumstance.

So I can't fairly review this place's vibe. Maybe. I'm giving a very low score because i thought it was miserable--full of frat boys, tanned older men with hairplugs, popped collars as far as the eyes can see. Bear in mind that this might be culture shock: I didn't approach this bar the way I do when I'm out of town. I approached it as a potential regular hangout, which it certainly isn't for someone like me.

Great tap selection. A little smoky. Music, most of it bad, playing very loudly. Waitresses were as dumb as rocks and they have a tightly controlled management system so all the staff members are stressed for stupid reasons.
Aug 03, 2009
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Reviewed by FtownThrowDown from Ohio

3.94/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Decided to stop in and check this place out since it was just down the street from Lafayette Brewing Company and I was there for lunch.
Pretty dead on a Friday around lunch time. Plenty of taps. So many in fact, that they had to use a menu to show you all the tap listings. Other than having the usual offerings from BMC, they did have quite a few very unique Belgian and micro offerings. It was nice to see that the local Indiana brewers were represented and you could grab a pint of them and give them a try on draft. Very friendly staff, that was attentive and talkative. Off street parking, not sure about lots that are around there. Decent stop, but I see this place as a typical college hangout in the evenings and on weekends.
Mar 23, 2009
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Reviewed by spointon from Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
Visited on 08/31/2008.

When it comes to sheer selection of outstanding beers, Chumley's is THE choice in the Lafayette area.

Coming in off the street, the atmosphere immediately screams college town sports bar, complete with dark stained woodwork, old brick walls, and a bunch of big TVs (some bright new flat screens, some dim old monsters). The bar is long and sports an incredible 50 taps - truly a sight to behold in a medium sized town.

I found both waitresses that served me to be very attentive and I appreciated that they made doubly sure they wrote down my order and brought me the correct beers (no small task with a list like they have).

As for the selection, in addition to the 50 taps, there are probably twice that many bottled choices. I appreciated the really well designed three page beer menu, and was able to select some awesome beers in just a few minutes.

The only real weak spot to this place is the food. I would call it average pub grub at best.

I would drive a long ways to visit this place - the selection is that good!
Sep 01, 2008
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Reviewed by engisch from New Jersey

2.76/5  rDev -29.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 1 | selection: 4.5
Walking in, I have to say the locals love this place. Unfortunately the locals are mainly college students. After turning the corner and seeing the wall of ~50 taps I understood why everyone liked this place.

About six of us sat in a corner, ordered several pitchers and then played some darts (pretending to be in college again). We had a great time enjoying the very wide selection of good beers on tap. Dropping the standard swill (Any bad macro and macro-lights such as Miller, Bud, and Coors), there was still 40ish drinkable drafts. Although we did not have bottles there is near 100 varieties in bottles from around the world.

Although the waitress seemed to not be very knowledgeable about many of the brews, she was able to recommend a very tastey local scottish-style ale that she said was her favorite.

As an overall I would say this place had a wonderful selection making it a very good bar to visit as long as you do not mind the young crowd of customers and the pretty college bar waitresses (a plus for it being in a college town).

Well, I've just noticed that they added a 90 dollar excess tip to my credit card (which should have been $26 total), that I'm disputing now with my credit card company. I gave the manager a call and he said he wouldn't work with me unless I came in or faxed my bank information (apparently 346% tips are not obvious mistakes?!?), so I will have to continue with my credit card company. I would recommend bringing lots of cash along to avoid this problem.
May 18, 2008
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Reviewed by beveritt from Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
Chumley's is a great little bar, especially considering the size of Lafayette/West Lafyette.

The atmosphere could be better. With lots of brick, wood, and cool lighting, the place starts out great. Unfortunately, there are TV hanign all over the place and it really makes it feel like mor eof a sports bar and less of a cozy little beer joint.

The service is hit or miss on beer knowledge, but always friendly.

The selection, especially considering the typical beers in most other bars around here. They have 100-150 beers at any given time, on tap and in bottles. The menu does a good job of explaining beer terms and dviding the beer into appropriate categories.

Food is typical pub fare, good but nothing special.

If you are in the area, hit this place and the Lafayette Brewing Company. If in seach of good beer, you can skip every other place in town.
Dec 11, 2006
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Reviewed by a10t2 from Colorado

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Chumley's is definitely the best beer bar in Lafayette/West Lafayette. The selection is outstanding, with 30 or so standards (in addition to all the BMC selections) plus half a dozen or so rotating taps, including a Rogue tap. Prices are middle of the road on most things, and the specials are even better. Mondays and Thursdays tend to attract the college crowd for schooner night, so the volume and smoke levels increase, and around midnight it gets to be standing room only, but the rest of the week this is a great place for a quiet drink with friends. The menu was recently changed and in my opinion got rid of some winners, but the quality is still good. About the only place it gets bad marks in my book is the service; they always seem understaffed and so it can take a while. Several of the bartenders are knowledgeable about beer, however, and not shy about giving out samples.
Nov 02, 2006
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Reviewed by soper2000 from Texas

4/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
About time i finally decided to contribute. Atmosphere is dark and cozy, however the amount of big screen tv's and sometimes loud music give a "sports bar" feel to the place. The service is a wildcard, I've had very knowledgeable servers and I've also had servers who would serve a bottle of imperial stout without a glass. Selection is amazing for a smaller Indiana town. 50 on tap, 100 in bottles. The tap selection is fairly consistent with Arrogant Bastard, Alpha King, Robert the Bruce, and Rogue Nut Brown always on tap. As for imports on tap you have the usual: Hacker-Pschorr, Pilsner Urquell, Boddingtons, and others of similiar ilk, nothing too exotic. Bottle selection is decent and this is the only place that i know of in the area where you can get a Duvel in its proper glass. Food is also very good with a decent percentage of customers coming for food only.
Mar 02, 2004
Chumley's Pub in Lafayette, IN
Place rating: 3.92 out of 5 with 29 ratings