Old Irving Brewing Co. | Chicago, IL
Beer Trip: Old Irving Brewing Co. in Chicago, Illinois
Unbeknownst to us on our trip to Chicago was just how many breweries the city has to offer. In fact, upon doing some research, we learned that it has more breweries than almost any city in the country. Although our visit was a short one, we were able to hit a few breweries and one of these was Old Irving Brewing Co. Parking was a bit tough in this area, but would be well worth the battle to make the stop!
The Brewery
Located in a really neat brick building in the Old Irving Neighborhood of Chicago, this place has a German theme throughout. We weren’t sure if it was just because Oktoberfest had begun or if they do it all the time, but fun German music played in the background here and really kept the vibe going. One side of the brewery is complete with a huge, 20-person wraparound bar, while the other side is essentially a large bier hall with tables throughout.
Large bar area
Awesome bier hall atmosphere!
The brewing process takes place at the back of the building, where you can see the entire thing through a large open window. When we visited, they had pallet upon pallet of canned beer ready to head out the door! While peeking through the window, we were kindly greeted by their staff who let us walk around in the back, check out the facility, and even gave us a free sticker.
Fun cushioned seating along the wall
Large-scale canning operation happening during our visit!
More views of the brewing facility, featuring a sticker wall with all of their past labels!
The Beer
Old Irving had plenty of offerings, with a full 16 beers to choose from. Much like the theme would suggest, their brewing style is primarily German - so they have lagers and Kolsches, but they also had multiple sours and five different IPAs. Their brewers do a fantastic job of altering flavor profiles within their beer. Over half of their selections are brewed with fruits, including pineapple, strawberry, mango, apricot, and passionfruit. If you enjoy a fruit taste within your drink, it might be tough to find a better place.
Being a big fan of fruited beers ourselves, we were also very satisfied that the taste lived up to their descriptions. Coming in at 8.5% ABV, the Virtual Vacation was the top beer we sampled at Old Irving. This one is a milkshake double IPA brewed with coconut, pineapple, and vanilla - it leaves your mouth lingering with flavor long after your last sip!
While lots of breweries have a Kolsch on the menu, they took things a step further and incorporated a flavored Kolsch option in the Strawberry Lemon Della. This one had the perfect strawberry taste and was even a bit tangy.
Food, Merch, & More
In addition to serving beer, Old Irving has a full bar and restaurant. For those who don’t like beer, they served cocktails that even featured house-made ginger beer and tonic. While they did have food you’d expect like German cheese and pretzels, they also served burgers, tacos, wings, and had many appetizer options.
Directly inside the front door is a big display case of their merchandise, to which their was plenty! They had shirts, hats, glassware, koozies, baby onesies, and even a large light-up sign. To top it off, nearly every one of their beers was available for purchase to-go in a 4-pack. For a brewery of this size, we were definitely impressed with their merchandise selection.
Thanks again for the free sticker, Old Irving!
Large projector screen on the bier hall side!
