It’s the beer from back home. And, if it’s Old Style…ish, it might also be the remedy for a homesick Chicagoan.
Ivy and Coney, which serves Old Style…ish beer, is a second home of sorts for Chicago and Detroit natives. The bar also has hot dogs in two styles: Chicago dogs (for the Windy City) and Coney dogs (for Detroit). All of this helped crown the bar as the place for Chicago expats living in D.C., at least that’s according to an August story in Chicago Magazine.
Ivy and Coney isn’t the only place for the homesick at heart. A number of bars have embraced regional identities with food and drink—think Yuengling and cheddar perogies at Second State or brisket and Shiner at Hill Country Barbecue. Still, at-home beer is a bit trickier for Ivy and Coney. Old Style may flow at Wrigley Field, but good luck trying to find a distributor who carries it in D.C.
That’s why, when the bar opened late last year, Ivy and Coney introduced Old Style…ish as a concept. It’s a replica of the original Old Style beer, which if you believe the label, has been “Chicago’s beer since 1902.” The appeal is pretty straightforward, says Josh Saltzman, co-owner of Ivy and Coney: “It’s $3 a pint, and it’s the closest product we could get to the real Old Style this side of Chicago. Hence the ‘…ish.’”
Ivy and Coney won’t exactly say what comes out of the tap labeled Old Style…ish. But, close your eyes, take one bite from a Chicago dog and follow it up with a sip, and you can easily just call it home.