Old Irving Brewing Pairs Unique Beer & Wood-Fired Meats Starting Thursday

After two emotional years, the brewpub started by the late Homaro Cantu is finally opening

by Ashok Selvam@Shokdiesel Sep 21, 2016, 11:05am CDT

Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

An emotional two years have led up to Thursday for Old Irving Brewing Co. Tomorrow the restaurant and brewery finally officially opens, and Trevor Rose-Hamblin, Jeff Linnemeyer and Matthias Merges have created a versatile space that should satisfy an array of tastes.

Rose-Hamblin, who worked at the late Homaro Cantu’s iNG and Moto, is the brewmaster and has crafted six house drafts. An India Pale Ale called Scentinel is the brewery’s flagship beer, a 7.7-percent ABV that’s not too bitter, and gives off a bouquet of mango, lychee and grapefruit. There’s also the Black Monday, an Imperial Black Ale that weighs in at a burly 10.5-percent ABV. There’s even a 7-percent ABV Belgian Wit—the Wit Walker—that’s influenced by Vietnamese pho. They won’t tell you how to drink this beer, which is made with ginger, star anise and a New Zealand hop with hints of lemongrass.

Non-beer drinkers may enjoy a house-made, non-alcoholic ginger beer or a selection of six cocktails. But...back to the beer: There’s also two rotating guest drafts and an assortment of six bottles and cans from local breweries. There are 12 taps total.

Merges, who is known for Billy Sunday, A10 and Yusho, and his Folkart Restaurant Management Team—with chef Michael Schrader—are concentrating on wood-fired items including fish and prawns. There’s also a sautéed calf’s liver—making a confluence of dishes that wouldn’t be found on most brewpubs’ menus. Though Linnemeyer, who played basketball in college, says Old Irving isn’t a sports bar, they will have NFL Sunday Ticket. How else will patrons enjoy their spiced chicken wings? Sunday brunch service is also on its way. Other beer snacks include pigs feet croquettes.

Whole-animal service isn’t listed on the menu, but Merges says lambs, pigs and goats will be available on request. They also want to host private events in the 8,500 square-foot space.

Take a look at the full menus below.

Old Irving Brewing Co., 4419 W. Montrose Ave., (773) 916-6421. Open 5 p.m. to midnight on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday; 10:30 a.m. to midnight on Sunday; closed on Tuesday.