19th Century Brewery Pouring Up History

As you step into the brand new 10,500 square foot brewery at Carillon Park, be prepared to step back 160 years, as you are greeted by workers, dressed in costumes from the period, brewing beer using  historical recipes from the 1850’s.  The brewhouse sits against one wall in plain view of the entire restaurant, which cost $3.5 million to build and was made possible by a lead gift from Heidelberg Distributing.  The brewery highlights the historical importance beer played in the development of Dayton, often providing families an inexpensive source of calories and nutrients.

Carillon Brewing Co (CBCo) Brewster Tanya Brock oversees the brewing  that takes place in a two-story brick oven set up.  At the top of the steps a 100 gallon  copper kettle is filled with water and heated by the fireplace underneath it, while costumed interpreters turn barley into malt which will be added to the heated water that has been transferred to the mash tun  to steep.  This slow heating process converts the starch in the malt into sugars.  This mixture, known as wort, is like the beer starter.  To this spices, flavoring  and hops are added, while workers maintain the boil by adding charcoal to keep the fire glowing.

Lastly the wort is ladled one last time from the boil kettle into the cooling barrel. Just as the name indicates, the cooling barrel is where the near boiling wort is quickly cooled to a more hospitable temperature of 75 degrees. Inside the barrel the wort flows through a spiral of copper tubing surrounded by ice cold water. On hot summer days large blocks of ice are used to help bring the temperature down.

Finally cooled, the sweet wort is poured into the fermenting barrels. These 59 gallon American oak barrels is where the yeast are added and kept for a week. During the week the yeast convert the wort’s sugars into heat, alcohol and carbon dioxide.  The beer is then transferred to oak barrels to ferment and clarify for about two to three weeks.  The spent grains from each batch of brew are used to produce crackers.  These buttery and crisp crackers are served on the menu’s Brewers Sampler Platter along with various cheeses, wursts, and garnishes for $10.  The current plan is to fire up the  kettles for the brewing process four days a week, thought that may be adjusted based on demand. Brock did share that while they are following recipes from the past, they have been slightly modernized and carbonated to appeal to the palettes of current drinkers.

This Thursday, Dec 11th, Carillon Brewing will debut it’s first two beers, Carillon Coriander Ale– created from an 1831 recipe that uses hot peppers to give it a slightly peppery finish and  and Carillon Porter, made from a mix of light and dark malts with roasted coffee and chocolate flavors.   Also being served and brewed are non-alcoholic root beer made from dark molasses and brown sugar and spices historically available like vanilla, star anise and cinnamon, and  ginger ale, sourced from an 1831 housewife’s recipe book. .

Tanya shared that she’s currently testing additional recipes and that she’ll add them as she feels comfortable with the flavors and tastes.

At the media tasting, held yesterday, Dayton History CEO Brady Kress shared that he’s  “proud to be able to present this facility to show how it’s done and where it all started.”  He also shared plans to add a wine making component to the facility, hopefully by next fall.  He explained that the Catawba grape was grown all along the Ohio River Valley and that the land the Dayton Country Club is on was once a field of grapes.

Flights of 4 beers, the 2 CBCo brewed beers and your choice of an additional 2 Heidelberg beers on tap will be available for $7.  Or take him a souvenir growler of beer for a $24 fill charge, plus a one time charge of $6 for the glass growler.

The food menu according to Dayton History’s website consists of “dishes from the tables of  English, German, and Irish immigrants’. ” Appetizers include soft pretzels, sauerkraut balls, and the brewers sampler platter with the spent grain crackers. You’ll find bratwurst, weiner schnitzel and roast chicken entrees for $12-$13 and , soups, sandwiches and salads  that average about $10to choose from. A warm apple tart or black forrest chocolate at $5.25 can finish off your meal.

You can visit the Carillon Brewing Co. at 1000 Carillon Park Blvd :
Monday – Saturday • 9:30am – 10:00pm
(Food Service 11:00am – 9:00pm)
Sunday • 11:00am – 10:00pm