O'Grady's Brewery & Pub
Chicago-style pub hopping in Arlington Heights
April, 1998by Brian Gustafson
What is a Chicago style, Chicago theme brewpub, complete with lots of Chicago memorabilia and even beers named after famous Chicago landmarks and events, doing in Arlington Heights? The answer is that it is doing very well. O'Grady's, located just east of the intersection of Golf and Arlington Heights Roads, gives west and northwest suburban customers a taste of vintage Windy City atmosphere.
Walking through the front door is like being transported back in time. A huge floor to ceiling mural dominates the wall opposite the door. It portrays a view of Lasalle Street as it might have looked around the turn of the century, with a couple of exceptions. There is an O'Grady's Pub in the mural that did not actually exist at that location, and proprietors Art O'Grady and his sons Dan and David are also painted into the scene as pedestrians along the sidewalk.
As you continue, you might think that you stepped into a Chicago speakeasy in 1920. The restaurant area is elegantly appointed in rich mahogany woods and red carpets and wall coverings. The ceiling fixtures are reminiscent of old brass gas lamps. Beautiful antiques are in abundance. Thick wood panels inlaid with leaded glass separate the rooms. And there is even an old upright piano in the corner. The bar is intimate, seating only 39 patrons. The dining room seats 180. Beyond the plush dining room are two banquet/meeting rooms each capable of easily seating 40 or 100 collectively in the same type of warm splendor as the dining area. The walls of these two rooms are lined with old photographs and prints of famous Chicago landmarks, events and people that were acquired from the Chicago Historical Society. There is a beer garden that is open in warmer weather that seats another 50 customers.
Evoking an image as powerful as "old" Chicago sets high expectations in the mind of the public. O'Grady's owners, chefs, brewers and staff have set a high goal for themselves in making this establishment a big success, and they are well on their way after working hard to perfect the food, the beer and the service.
"It's really an ongoing process," explains Bob Ward, O'Grady's Brewmaster. "We believe in continuous improvement in all areas of the business. I make my decisions on when to stop the fermentation process based on evaluation and tastings from the fermenter itself. I look for a combined balance between malt and hops. The residual sugars in the beer should be balanced with them. I lean on the chefs, with their highly educated and experienced palates, as a tool in the evaluation process.
Bob is no stranger to constant experimentation to improve the beer, and he is blessed with a knack for success. During his years as a homebrewer, beers he submitted to local and national competitions won sixteen different awards in eleven different beer styles, including a Gold Certificate from an American Homebrewers Association competition for his 7th batch, an American Pale Ale. An even fifty percent of all beers he submitted won an award, so it is no big leap to understand why he was destined to apply his talents commercially. Bob went on to brew professionally with Golden Prairie Brewing and with Star Union, as well as filling in as a "brewer of the day" at three local brewpubs. He took the helm at O'Grady's in July of 1997.
The brewhouse consists of a ten barrel Specific Mechanical System, four twenty barrel fermenters, and eight serving tanks, two of which are twenty barrels in capacity. "This way we can brew double batches of our top two sellers," notes Bob, "which makes our operation much more efficient. We brew five beers year around, the Magnificent Mild, Haymarket Pilsner, Stockyard Stout, Board of Trade Wheat and the Chicago Fire. And, there are usually one or two seasonal specialties on tap."
The Magnificent Mild, named after one of Chicago's most visible and pricey bit of real estate, is an all malt light beer, low in alcohol as well as in calories. Perle and Cascade are the hops used. "This one has a decent amount of body," states Ward, "and there are Munich and Vienna malts in there too. We use six row malts in this because people who drink it desire the six-row 'flavor.' It's surprising when I receive a compliment on this beer - I don't expect it to come from our Mild, our 'smallest' beer. A lot of people do not realize that without the corn or the rice it is a much 'cleaner' beer"
The Haymarket Pilsner is made with Perle and Saaz hops. There are two hoppings, to pick up a little spiciness without being overbearing. It's gold in color and nicely balanced. "We will bring in a couple more versions of the lager," adds Ward, "a Dortmunder and perhaps a Munich Helles. We will change to Hallertau hops for these."
The Board of Trade Wheat is a true Hefeweizen and named for the time that Art O'Grady worked in the computer field as a service bureau for the institution in Chicago where wheat was a traded commodity. This is a full-bodied, unfiltered beer, orange in hue which is on the darker side of the style guidelines for a Hefeweizen, but this serves to set it apart as well. The aroma is of banana and vanilla. "It has been one of our top sellers in winter even though it is a warmer weather kind of beer," notes Ward. "Usually the beer is served with a lemon wedge, but we encourage customers to choose their own citrus wedge to customize it to their tastes."
The Blacksmith Pale Ale is named after great grandfather Thomas O'Grady who was a blacksmith in Chicago and serviced many of the downtown stores back in the late 19th century. It is an aggressively hopped, American style Pale Ale. "The Blacksmith name will carry through several different variations of pale ales for continuity of the theme," adds Ward. The Blacksmith Pale Ale recently won a Bronze Medal in the World Beer Championships.
Chicago Fire is a medium-bodied ruby colored ale with hints of Apricot, Plum and Peach in the fragrance. Northdown hops are the primary flavoring ingredient. It has a caramel and toasty character. "This ale competes with our Pilsner for the best seller spot," explains Ward. "We even have some regular customers who live in the UK who come in and tell us this is their favorite, which is a great compliment. This beer just won a Silver Medal at the World Beer Championships. Three Finger Brown Ale is named after a character in one of the photos on the wall in one of the banquet rooms. This picture shows the 1907 Chicago Cubs championship team. Right in the middle of the first row in the picture is a thirty-game winning pitcher and hall of fame member called - you guessed it - Three Finger Brown. There are three different hop additions to balance out the maltiness but still leaves a little nuttiness in the finish. "This recipe will evolve over time," Ward adds." We use both English and domestic caramel malts and hops from the Willamette valley."
The Scotch Ale is one of the seasonal beers and it is brewed with three different types of caramel malt. Bob uses the kitchen smoker to smoke a small portion of malt with hickory. It leans toward the sweeter side. "The smokiness is real subtle," explains Ward, "almost transparent, but sometimes that is enough to add the complexity that is desired."
Stockyard Stout combines Midwestern oats and roasted barley. It's rich in chocolate and coffee aromas, and smooth and well-balanced. This stout won 'Best of Show' in the Chicago Beer Society's Fall Beer tasting. "I'll be expected to have twenty barrels of Stockyard Stout available for this St. Patrick's Day," adds Ward. "We ran out of stout last year, but it will not happen again this year." The St. Patrick's Day celebration will start on the Saturday before and run through Tuesday evening with Irish music and dancers, and a special Irish menu. True to the Chicago theme, O'Grady's also has seriously good food. There is a separate lunch and dinner menu, and both are filled with a wide variety of wonderful things. Chef Ross Moylan maintains the high quality of the menu items and creates new specials every day. There are ribs, pasta dishes, seafood, lamb stew, steaks, chops, buffalo stew, and a very nice Jambalaya, courtesy of Assistant Chef Burt Burgess, formerly of New Orleans. Many items are made with beer or are made to complement certain beers.
It has been said that one way to measure a restaurant is by how they cook the "most basic" food items on the menu. In this case it would be the meat loaf, a fairly normal dish favored by many people. O'Grady's has turned this common meal into an uncommon feast. They do this by baking the home-style meatloaf and then slicing and grilling it to perfection, and the end result tastes like a steak. The portion is HUGE as well. And this is the simplest item on the menu, so you can image how good the rest of the entrees will taste. Oh, and before you order an entree, have some of the Irish nachos, which are made with waffle fries instead of tortilla chips. Just be prepared to carry home the leftovers, as all portions are big at O'Grady's.
"Creativity is the best expression of what you can do," comments Ward. "The challenge is that there are a lot of different controls involved, plus a lot of heavy work and constant cleaning. I've actually lost weight since I've been here. One of the rewards that I really did not expect was that I saw two people drinking my beer - my first recipe. It was the Oktoberfest. Two people got off work and came in here, got their beer, clinked their glasses together, took a sip and said, 'this is what we work for' - and I though that was so cool. You do not often get rewards like that, but to make people happy is rewarding and I enjoy it."
Bob's mission is to continue to produce more award-winning beer that will really put O'Grady's on the beer map. So far, he is three for three in beer competitions with O'Grady's. But of course, if you take his last name into consideration, every beer he makes is an a-Ward winning beer.
