As much as I enjoy Union Street Market’s food hall, I was super-stoked about this spring’s newest development at the mixed-use Electric Works campus. The arrival of Chapman’s Brewing Company brought us a sitdown eatery. 

Chapman’s has been brewing craft beer in northern Indiana since 2012, with additional locations in Columbia City and at Fort Wayne International Airport. 

Sampling the goods

Full disclosure: I’m not a beer aficionado. I’m not even a beer drinker. But Chapman’s does offer tasting samples of what’s on tap — and a lot is on tap, including some guest selections. 

Mostly, tasting samples allows me to confirm that (to me) beer tastes like beer, but sometimes I discover something I enjoy, especially in the realm of hard ciders, and this happened on my first visit to Chapman’s. I got a sample of Kekionga’s Strawberry Gumball cider. It tasted exactly like it sounds: It tasted like fruity candy. I ordered a full pour. 

I asked our friendly server for some of her favorite food on the menu, and one of her recommendations was the fish and chips, which I had been eyeballing, so I went for it. 

It was a generous portion of beer-battered and deep-fried cod served with crispy double-battered fries. There were two large pieces of fish (enough that I could happily share with my friend in exchange for bites of her burger), and the breading was nice and crispy surrounding the flaky fish. The seasoned fries were just right: no overdone too crispy fries, no underdone limp and soggy fries. 

My friend ordered the deluxe smash burger (two smash patties with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, and garlic aioli), with a side of the same yummy fries I had, and a guest tap Founders All Day Grapefruit beer. 

We really enjoyed our food and drinks. The only downside was there was a loud rock band playing when we got there at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday — not a time I would expect to be struggling to chat over the music. While the band was great and I loved their playlist, we were relieved that they took a long break while we were there so we could talk to each other. 

Burger craving

Not long after, I returned for dinner with another friend and guess what? I had the Strawberry Gumball cider again. 

I did sample something else first. It did taste like beer, and my childlike sense of taste and I returned to the sweet fruity goodness I’d enjoyed previously. My friend had a beer and for the life of me I have no idea which one. 

We were hungry, so we immediately ordered some pickle fries (served with a side of ranch) while contemplating other choices. They were actually “fry” shaped and sized, long thin spears, rather than the frequently seen fried pickle chips, and the batter was crispy without being overly breaded. It was a satisfying starter snack. 

For dinner, we opted for burgers. Mine was the double smash with fries, his the mushroom and Swiss (two smash patties with Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, and onions) with an upgraded side of mac and cheese. 

My burger became a sloppy mess as the bun eventually failed to contain all the toppings, but it was super-satisfying. Meat-eaters, you know how sometimes you have a craving for “just a really good burger”? This met that desire. It had a nice amount of char to give it some crispy edges without drying out. My friend said his was similarly satisfying, with good flavor and even distribution of mushrooms to be able to enjoy them with every bite. 

The mac and cheese fell a little flat, especially for being a “premium” side with an upcharge. Beer cheese gave good flavor, but it was a bit one-note, and could have benefited from a textural element. 

Overall, it was another enjoyable meal. 

Even if you’re not a meat-eater, Chapman’s has food for you. There are a number of vegetarian options, including a vegetarian version of fish and chips made with tofu, a portabella burger, and smoked cauliflower tacos. With a number of vegetarian friends and family members, I appreciate it when a menu has inventive meatless options. 

There was live music again that night, this time on a Thursday, and again it was too loud for the space. It’s a large open room with high ceilings and hard surfaces, so the sound really reverberates. 

Here’s the part where I make a case for you not to write me off as just being an old fuddy duddy. On this Thursday night, it was open seating. No one had chosen to be in the large open area where the music was, while almost every table was filled in the much smaller space tucked in back beside the bar, as far away as possible from the music. I hope management will pick up on these cues and turn it down a smidge to create a more inviting atmosphere for patrons, and maybe keep the louder music for later at night.

Making due

I would also be remiss if I did not mention a less successful visit in between these two, a night when everything went off the rails, 

However, it sounded like someone walked out of the kitchen mid-shift, which had unfortunate ripple consequences throughout the dining room. Our meals took an extraordinary amount of time to come out, but management was very apologetic and ended up comping us for all our food that night. And the chips, beer cheese, and salsa we started the evening with were really enjoyable; I recommend swiping a chip through both dishes to get a little of each all on one chip. 

Overall, Chapman’s feels like a place with potential once they work out a few growing pains. The menu is fairly standard bar food, but these are well-executed versions, and I’d be happy to come back and try some more. 

Readers, I love hearing from you, whether you’re agreeing or disagreeing with my preferences. And I welcome your suggestions on where I should write about. Drop me a line at WendyEatsFW@gmail.com.