Old Irving Brewing

 

 

I will be the first to admit that I like beer.  I also like exploring and have been to many of Chicago's breweries and have gotten to know brewers, partners, owners, or other employees of several breweries.  One such brewery, Old Irving Brewing, I have been friends of the brewery since it was an idea in the head brewers head.  I met Trevor Rose-Hamblin, the Head Brewer/Partner at Old Irving Brewing when he managed fine dining restaurant, Moto.  The last time I had a meal there, he mentioned that he would be leaving to train with the guys from BrewDog in Scotland, so he could start his own brewery/brewpub.  He returned a few months later and worked toward opening the brewpub.  There were complications and things took longer than expected, but it opened at the end of 2016.  I tried to get there soon after it opened, and I did actually get there a few times, but complications prevented me from actually going in until last spring.  I have been there a few times and enjoyed both the food and drink.  They had a bottle release on black Friday for a beer that I was very interested in.  So I decided to stop in shortly after to pick up a bottle and have some more of their excellent food.

As it is a brewery and I was coming for a specific beer, I decided to try a few of the beers that they have on tap.  They generally have 8-10 beers on tap ranging from low alcohol to high, and light to dark.  There is always a very drinkable Kolsch, an IPA, and a Stout on the menu.  For this trip, I went with House of 'Pagne, an American Strong Ale that was a collaboration with Pipeworks Brewing, that used White Peaches and Belgian Candy Sugar, Trendi the Sixth, a Double Dry Hopped IPA that goes through frequent variations (hence the Sixth part of the name), and Imperial Krampus Cookies (the bottle I was picking up), a Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout with flavors of Cherry and Vanilla.  A ll of the beers were good, though House of 'Pagne was a little dryer than I generally like.  Of the three that I tried that night, I liked Trendi the Sixth the best.

As I was sitting there drinking and it was close to dinner time, I decided that I should eat.  Their restaurant menu has some really good food.  In the past, I have had some Brussels Sprouts, Marrow, and a very good burger that changes topping from week to week.  This time around, I decided to stat things off with the Fried Zucchini which was served with Sicilian Caper Salsa, Garlic Aioli, and Parmagiano-Reggiano.  It was very good.  The zucchini was sliced lengthwise and had a crisp crust, but it was not completely fried through, so you got some of the texture of the zucchini in the center.  The flavor of the zucchini also went very well with the caper salsa and the garlic aioli.  As this was very much an Italian dish, what better way of finishing it than by topping it with grated Parmagiano-Reggiano Cheese.

For my main course, I went to Spain and had the Wood Fired Spanish Octopus.  It was served with Crispy Potatoes, Piquillo Peppers, more Garlic Aioli (I can say for certain that I am not a vampire, because I like the aioli and think that it goes well with the food it was served with), Oregano, Lemon, and Green Olive Salsa.  Many people confuse octopus and squid and think that they might taste similarly.  Octopus has a much meatier texture and flavor, and goes better with savory elements.  The potatoes (which would have gone well with a steak), were cut in large pieces had crispy edges, but were well cooked fried potatoes.  I am generally not a huge fan of green olives, but the salsa went well with the octopus and other elements of the dish. and the piquillo peppers added a nice spice.

To finish things off, I was a little torn.  They generally, have a brownie, a panna cotta, and a strudel on the dessert menu.  All sounded good, but I decided to go with the Chocolate Fudge Brownie that was served warm with Fudge Sauce, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  It was very good on it's own, but also, I drink my beers from light to dark and by this time, I was down to the Imperial Krampus Cookies Barrel Aged Milk Stout, which it went very well with.  I enjoyed my dinner and beers here.  The food was good and the staff is very friendly.  I will definitely return to enjoy more of their good beer and food.