Pub Review: Chumley’s Pub, Lafayette Indiana

The Location:

Located just across the street from the Court House this local pub is without question one of the must visit places when you’re in the area.

The Atmosphere:
I came to Chumley’s approximately 5pm EST, there’s a few locals hanging out but the crowd is scarce. This is college town and its summer so the student population is rather thin. To be fair, I was there during the ‘off season’ according to one of the servers. Despite the massive crowds, you’ll get the vibe that this is definitely a hot spot.

The beers
Since Im covering two bars in one night I decided that I would ‘slow’ down and try just 3 beers before I moved on. Anybody who’s been following corebrewing.com knows that I am a hop head at heart so I decided to try a couple of local IPAs and a Belgium. Here’s my notes on the brews I sampled.

Now.. for the beer!
Beer 1 – Bell’s Two Hearted Ale – Michigan

I apologize for the bad picture, the lighting was poor inside and my camera wasnt really equiped to handle the situation. Anyhow..

India Pale Ale style well suited for Hemingway-esque trips to the Upper Peninsula. American malts and enormous hop additions give this beer a crisp finish and incredible floral hop aroma.

Beer Stye: American IPA
Original Gravity: 1.058
Alc. by Vol.: 7.0%
Price: $4.00
State Availability: FL, IA, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, OH, PA, VA, WI

Aroma: Subtle Floral Scent

Flavor: Hoppy without an overly aggressive bite. It’s quite balanced for an A-IPA and drinkable. A slight warming sensation from the ABV at the end.

Appearance:
Light golden hues, filtered. Head retention was typical of an IPA and dissipates rather quickly. With a little agitation the head forms nicely and laces the glass quite nice. The head when first poured was roughly an inch thick, pale in color.

Overall grade: A
This brew is very drinkable. Smooth, hoppy and not overly aggressive. Hop heads may want a bigger bite but I think this is a well balanced brew with a clean finish. Flavor and definitely represents this beer style class well.

Beer 2 – Brugge Tripple de Rippel
Beer Style 3:Belgian Style Abbey Trippel
Aroma: heavy spice (coriander, hints of cloves and
Clarity – filtered and crystal clear.
Flavor: spicy, consistent with Belgum beer styles
Abv: 9.9%

Taster’s notes:
Belgums are not known for the persistent heads. This brew is no exception. Even after aggressive agitation the head quickly dissipates.

Brewer’s Notes:
In 1934, the monks of Westmalle brewed a new beer called “Superbier”. It was a blonde ale of higher alcohol and was very likely based on a blonde beer the monks had been brewing sporadically since 1931. It was also known as the tripel.

Tripel de Ripple is highlighted by notes of vanilla and pear delivered from our strain of yeast. Quite approachable for a beer of such strength, Tripel de Ripple masks its alcohol beneath an impressive layer of complexity while maintaining its remarkable drinkability.

Original Gravity: 1.090 (21.5 ºP)
Alcohol by Volume: 9.85%
Apparent Degree of At tenuation: 78%
IBU: 27
Malts: Euro Pils, White Wheat
Adjuncts: Evaporated Cane Juice – Organic Medium Invert
Hops: Vanguard, Saaz
Yeast: Proprietary strain
Primary Fermentation: 76 to 78 ºF (24 to 26 ºC)
Secondary: 3 weeks at 36 ºF (2 ºC)

The food:
While I was here I sampled a black and blue burger. The flavor was good but nothing that really knocked my socks off. B-Money my favorite bartender suggested I try the Queso, chips and salsa combo. The queso was really good the rest of was OKAY. I didn’t hate it but anybody that’s read any of my reviews know that I wasn’t terribly excited either.

Overall impression:
“Good for beer, everything else.. meh”

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I think this is a cool local hang-out but its nothing to write home about. Well in this case I suppose I am. What made this place special for me was my favorite bar tender Bethany or B-Money! At the time of writing my girl wasn’t around for an interview so I am hoping I can catch her before I head back west.

In the small town of Layfayette this is definitely one of the premium locations for brew. I’ve been here twice now and the first time I sampled food and met a very personable and knowdlgeable bar tender. Too bad she wasn’t here tonite. I’ll try to catch her before I leave to interview her. The bartend today knows how to pour beer but lacked the personality that would draw me back I didn’t catch his name but why would I? Would I come back again? Sure, the beer selection is good and I suppose that if I showed up during prime time, this place would be crawling with college girls 

Okay here’s a quick update, just before I was about to leave, my favorite bartender shows up for her shift. So here’s my quick interview with her:

Meet Bethany!

Name:Bethany
Nickname:”Bethy” “BMoney”
Favorite beer style: Belgium Style Ales
Favorite: Fin Du Monde, Pirrat IPA, and Hennepin Omegang
Least favorite beer:Strohs (old man beer she calls it!)

How she became a beer fan:
Graduated from college worked in the restaurant industry and began sampling beer. Tried just about everything up and down ladder. “I’ll try anything once!” My kinda girl!! Talk about sexy!

Wow! So while in Europe BMoney had the opportunity to try many of the fine European ales and fell in love w/ the Belgium style ale. Without a doubt she’s my favorite brew babe in Lafayette and if you’re ever in the neighborhood, let her know her boy from Cali sent you! What a cutie!

So my random question to her was “Are you single? What is your pre-req for a boy friend?” She’s willing to accept a guy who doesn’t love beer…(what a shame) BUT “if he doesn’t… well there’s more beer for me!” – OMG I love this girl already!

Her beer knowledge is up there which makes her ultra sexy to me. Its good people like B-money that really makes or breaks a pub.

Bottom line: Corebrewing-West approved! Must visit while in Lafayette Indiana

Tags: beer babe, Chumleys, layfayette, pub, Review

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Brewpub Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.