Chumley’s Beer House

April 21, 2008
I have been to Chumleys more times than I can count... at night, and for the macro swill that the rest of the ’Rip is known for. But when I was dragged there for a late lunch I found that they actually serve good pub food. I have to say I was surprised. My sisters all said they had good grub but I never thought anything of it because there’s a hundred other places in Broad Ripple that I would think to eat at before Chumley’s. Anywho, the reason I even care to write the review is the fact that they had Bare Knuckle Stout on draught. And it tasted clean too, no handfull-of-pennies taste that you get with most stouts at sports bars. Good people watching/taunting out front and big enough screens inside to see the fear in Jimmy Clausen’s eyes with every snap.

November 1, 2007
If you’re unlucky enough (which I always have been), this place is, at best, crowded with swill drinking college kids (nothing against them...I used to be one!) and, at worst, a true clusterf@ck. It can take forever to get a drink, for which the staff is hardly to blame, due to what MUST be a violation of the fire code, but all the same it leads to a less than wonderful atmosphere. And that’s not even mentioning the noise.

February 12, 2006
Lots of taps, with some good beers available. Unfortunately 10+ of them are divoted to macro beers and this place is usualy frequented by a younger college crowd simply looking for the best bargin on light beer. Several pool tables and a good amount of TV’s, this place is always full on a weekend, often times to the point where it can take you 10-15 minutes to get to the bar. The three major advantages are the seats looking out on the street, if you’re lucky enough to get them, a farily nice selection of taps, and in the summer they have Cubs games every time they are on. Choose your visit time carefully because you may unwantingly stumble into a crowded macro fest if you show up on a weekend night.

December 9, 2005
I wandered in here one Saturday afternoon as the last of the Indy multi-tap pubs that I hadn’t tried yet. Unfortunately it was the Saturday that Notre Dame was playing USC, so every loud frat daddy cliche I’d been told about the place was fully on display. I have to score low on the service since I couldn’t get the time of day of any of the waitresses. I’m sure this was because I was flying solo and the rest of the tables were all pretty packed; they probably thought I wasn’t worth the tip by comparison. Nonetheless, this is poor service by any stretch of the imagination. Looked to me like around 50 taps, but there was still a dearth of micros that weren’t overfamiliar. I respect the fact that most of the Indy pubs give a lot of draught space to local and regional beers but the net effect is that it seems you find the same things everywhere you go. The usual Bell’s amber, Oberon, etc. Maybe Upland’s Wheat or Dragonfly, etc. Three Floyd’s Alpha King, Robert the Bruce, etc. Kinda dampens the mood for exploration a bit. Overall this seemed like a good place to bring a large, rowdy party but it’s certainly no chill out spot, and the atmosphere doesn’t lend well to, say, perusing the taps or getting a good whiff of your beer.