7/8/08 Kickin' it Old Style on The Counter Project

There are more than a few consumables out there that epitomize Chicago: Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs "dragged through the garden," deep-dish pizza, and...Old Style Beer.

When I first moved to Chicago, I was imediately drawn to the red-white-and-blue backlit signs mounted to neighborhood bar after neighborhood bar, proudly proclaiming that they had Old Style Beer on tap. Just what was this "Old Style," and why should I care if it's on tap?

But the neighborhood bars aren't the only place you can get Old Style in Chicago. Old Style has become synonymous with Chicago Cubs baseball, as it's been the official beer of Wrigley Field since 1950.

Anyway, as a Chicago resident, I soon became fully aware of Old Style's main appeal: the low, low price. As far as cheap beers go (Miller High Life, Bud Light, Stroh's, etc.), Old Style ranks up there as among the cheapest... and the tastiest.

I remember one time spotting a 30-pack of Old Style at the grocery store by my condo for a mere $11.99-- that's 40 cents a can! You can't pass a deal like that up-- especially in Chicago.

So even though Old Style and Chicago have such strong connections to each other, I was surprised to learn that it's not actually a Chicago beer. It's been brewed in Wisconsin since Gottlieb Heileman brewed his first bottle of beer in 1872, and the G. Heileman Brewing Company has no plans on moving shop anytime soon.

As I was getting ready to move back to Michigan last summer, I realized that this sweet brewed nectar I'd taken for granted for the past three years was soon to become a hard-to-get-a-hold-of item for me. Old Style, despite its crazy popularity in Chicago and parts of Wisconsin, is almost unheard of elsewhere in the U.S.

But that doesn't mean it's completely unheard of elsewhere.

There are actually two places in Dearborn where you can get your hands around a cold Old Style: Cheli's Chili Bar has Old Style on draft; and Merchant's Fine Wine sells Old Style in 12-packs, as well as 1/2-barrel kegs. I just picked up a keg for a barbecue a few weeks ago for a paltry $62.

Detroit Red Wing Chris Chelios brought the Old Style tradition with him from Chicago (where he was born and raised) when he opened Cheli's Chili on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Oakwood Boulevard in 2003. Cheli's Chili Bar was originally located in Chicago, but Chelios closed that location and moved it to Dearborn after he left the Chicago Blackhawks to play for the Red Wings in 1999.

The beer department at Merchant's Fine Wines also has a Chicago connection. Annette May, Merchant's in-house beer expert, spent many years working in Chicago where she honed her taste for fine beer. I'm not saying Old Style's a fine beer, just that May knows her stuff, and she's from Chicago.

So you want a little taste of Chicago this summer, without actually leaving town? Head over to Cheli's Chili, 21918 Michigan Avenue or Merchant's Fine Wine, 22250 Michigan Avenue and chill yourself out with a frosty old fashioned Old Style Beer.

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