Mt. Carmel Brewing:

David and I first discovered Mt. Carmel’s beer in our later years in college. It was the packaging that caught our eye at first. Sold in a 1/2 gallon brown glass growler, we were intrigued by its unique appearance and the fact it was a local brew. When we tried the beer itself, we were hooked. We sought it out in local groceries, enjoyed a lot of pints where we could find it on draft, and even had a “growler party” with fellow U.C. graduates after David endured a particularly brutal quarter of algebraic topology.

Mt. Carmel has since upgraded to 12 ounce six-packs, which allows for wider distribution. The original line up has expanded to include seasonal beers, and more places than ever are featuring Mt. Carmel on tap. We were eager to meet Kathleen and Mike to talk about Mt. Carmel’s beginnings, current state, and what was on the horizon for the brewery. Luckily, they graciously agreed to take a few hours out of a busy brewing day to show us around the brewery.

Jared monitors the boil at Mt. Carmel's Brewery

You could drive by Mt. Carmel brewing every day and not know it—unless maybe you had the windows down, and then the sweet smell of the brewing process would tell you what your eyes had missed. The large white house has been converted into a brewery and office space, and also contains the basement where Mike homebrewed Mt. Carmel’s first batches.

As we entered through what used to be the children’s playroom, Kathleen explained the area will later be converted to a small tasting room. While we were able to take an inside look at the brewery, eventually brewing area will be off-limits to the public, both for production and safety reasons.

How many people are working in production?

“Jared and Mike handle the brewing, Virgil is the packaging manager, and he has a part time assistant as well. The full time employees are putting 50-60 hours in a week, each! We’re in the process of looking to get them some help. We do have some office staff, and an office manager.”

Did you ever think that when you started it would get this big?

“We didn’t! When Mike was brewing in the basement, I remember both of us getting so excited when we got an order in for a whole case of growlers. It caught on so quickly. I would say we had to make the decision within 6 to 9 months to quit our current careers and to go with it, or to shut the distribution down. We would have had to shut it down altogether, we couldn’t maintain just a little bit. At that point we couldn’t stop; there were just so many people that loved the beer. We didn’t want to let them down. And really, the fan base is what fueled us to keep going. It was very motivating, and still is to this day. We get so much wonderful, positive feedback from people in Cincinnati, and even the local government.”

The seven-barrel system that all Mt. Carmel beer is brewed on is surprisingly small for the actual volume of beer that is being produced. The brewery itself is very efficient and compact, and Mike, known fondly as “MikeGyver”, engineered all the plumbing and wiring to make best use of space.

“We outgrew the basement within the first year. For zoning reasons, we actually had to attach the brewery onto the house.” Kathleen says with a laugh. Eventually, they plan to convert the brewing area to a 30 barrel hot house.

How has the switch from growlers to bottles impacted sales?

“It’s definitely increased sales. The growlers were eye catching, but the volume was an issue. We were seeing a lot of sales on weekends, and the feedback we were getting was that people loved our beer, but they couldn’t drink that volume in one sitting. It wasn’t an everyday purchase, it was a commitment. The growler was great, but it was making it very difficult for us to grow. When we switched to the 12 ounce bottle in January 2009, the beer really flew off the shelves.”

We really have enjoyed the collaboration barrel aged beers between Mt. Carmel and the Party Source—we have two Jones IPAs that are aging, and one Tripel Rot from last year—so we asked Kathleen about what’s next for the series. The next available brew is the Quaff Brother’s Figgy Pudding, which is going to be featured at this weekend’s Winter Beer Fest. Figgy Pudding is Mt. Carmel's Winter beer with fig juice added, aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels.

In addition to the Quaff brothers collaboration, Mt. Carmel also brews Dewey’s pizzas seasonal beers.

Nicholson’s was the first place that Mt. Carmel beer was tapped. Kathleen mentioned, showing us the article that followed shortly thereafter in the Post.

Mike, busy brewing up a batch of Amber with Jared's assistance

What’s next for Mt. Carmel?

“Mostly expansion. We’ll be launching in Cleveland and Columbus soon. That’s exciting, but we’re being careful; we don’t want to oversell the product and leave our core area depleted. We’re all about slow, manageable growth. We do have some investment here, another family, so we’re still family owned. We didn’t want just any investment group to partner with. We wanted someone who understood what we were doing here.”

Do you do anything with the spent grain from the brewing process?

“We do. There’s a farmer in Adams county, Hazelbaker Meats. He has a portion of his cows on our grain, and as we expand, he’ll get more. The cows go crazy for the grain. They literally run up to it when it’s dropped off. Eventually we will be selling the meat from his cows in our retail area as well, which is exciting.”

spent grain awaiting pickup

What’s the most popular seller?

“Amber is our #1 seller. The Amber used to be Copper, and before that, used to be called the Celebration. The Nut Brown is #2, and it is very, very close to the amber. The Blonde and the Stout will flip in sales depending on which season it is. Stout picks up during the winter. Though sales are higher in the winter months, we actually brew the Stout year round. We’ve heard people call it the summer stout. It’s light, dry, crisp, clean.”

Amber ale: Slightly sweet with a light fruity aroma from the malt, medium bodied, featuring a hoppy finish with a nice bite to it

The nut brown, a toasty brew with a slight aroma of raisins that reminded us of toasted sourdough

Mike started brewing the big, imperial beers in the basement, but Mount Carmel’s seasonal line up evolved into brewing more subtle session beers with complex flavors. With than in mind, we inquired about seeing some bigger beers from Mt. Carmel in the future.

Will we see any bigger beers from Mt. Carmel soon?

“Some of the stuff we will be coming out in 2011 will be on the extreme side. We’re still developing the concept, but that is in the cards for 2011, after our launch in Cleveland and Columbus.”

Mt. Carmel will be attending the Winter Beerfest this weekend, February 11th and 12th, and, in addition to bringing several of their delicious year round line up, will also be bringing the collaboration beer we spoke of earlier. Make sure to stop by their booth if you’re attending or grab a six pack at your local grocery and toast to Mt. Carmel’s continued success, and the revival of Cincinnati’s brewing history.

Interview; Steven Geddes of Local 127:

When Local 127 opened, there were a lot of things said. Politics were heavy and tempers ran high. David and I were mostly oblivious to the craziness that was going on during those initial few weeks; our encounters with Steven and his staff were friendly, and the menu certainly looked appealing. Our first visit was in Fall 2009, and what a visit it was! Our chef's table experience was a wonderful way to end our afternoon of downtown apartment hunting.

Since then, things have settled down a little. We've been back to Local 127 and specifically sought Steven out a few months ago—shortly after Local 127’s one year anniversary—for his thoughts on the restaurant's beginnings, progress, recent changes, and future plans.

And of course, we had the pleasure of dinner at Local 127 too. Actually, between the chef's tasting menu Steven and his sous chef Kyle offered, I think we probably stuffed ourselves with at least 3 dinners between the 2 of us. We have no regrets.

Cheesy grits house-made house smoked hot sauce, bacon crisps, crunchy shallots and fresh herbs.

Can you tell us some more about fried chicken Wednesdays?

“It's a little twist on traditional fried chicken. We brine it and slow cook it in a full oven at an exact temperature, soak it in buttermilk and double batter it then fry it up to order. Some nights we will get a handful of orders, sometimes we get a lot. It’s always a fun evening.”

Steve smiles as he recounts an eventful Wednesday where one of the kitchen's many ovens emitted a loud "BOOM" during prep—blowing the doors open and shattering china—requiring the gas lines to be inspected.

"Needless to say, we were not opening for dinner service that night. We called our reservations, sent them champagne and apologies, but we had all this chicken left to cook. We didn't want it to go to waste, so we took it up to Neon's in OTR, threw it on the grill and had a blew-up-the-kitchen party. We try to make sure that nothing goes to waste if we can help it, and our food management supports the restaurant’s fair prices. Maybe some product we get in isn’t good enough to serve to a guest, but it still makes a great [staff] meal."

Our inviting bite: 14-hour sous-vide pork belly, caramelized onion, house-made white cheddar cheese foam (really rich and really good), and potato soup.

How have some dishes evolved? How long does it take to “perfect” a dish?

“I wouldn’t say a dish is ever actually finished evolving here. We start with a dish, and we like it, but they change as we go. Once we put it on the menu, for the next few weeks we're constantly tweaking. We're used to cooking spontaneously, which contributes to that.

“Our Chicken dish has gone through changes, though it’s always been two-ways. The potato skins are also constantly evolving and are very different from what we served our first week.”

chicken two ways

potato skins

I inquired about the menu section entitled “for the daring,” which is a selection of cured meats, and unusual cuts. It varies from week to week, but you might encounter chicken heart, liver mousse, or another daring selection.

chicken liver mousse with Riesling jelly

A daring selection: chicken heart

What are some popular menu items?

“Our cured and pickled plates were unexpectedly popular. I think one of the reasons is that the German heritage that is here really makes the cured and pickled plates appealing.”

Terrine

smoked chicken

We noticed Steven spending a lot of time attending to guests, and asked about the change. For the past six months, Steve has been spending some more time in the front of the house, interacting with guests.

"Though I still check into the kitchen regularly, I started wearing my formal apron now. It's sort of like a tuxedo t-shirt." He says with a grin, dropping off a cured and pickled sampler at our table.

(above) Smoked ruby trout with pickled onion, fresh herbs olive oil and lemon juice; brined hickory smoked chicken, sous vide pickled radishes and celery leeks; pork and chicken liver terrine with picked green beans; chicken liver mouse with riesling jelly and pickled pears; loma (pork loin) with bread and butter pickles; 6 month copa with pickled banana peppers; 9 month copa with pickled watermelon rind; aged mountain ham with candied watermelon rinds (below).

We enjoyed a sparkling moscato with our pickled plates, the refreshing bubbles complementing the variety of flavors in front of us.

I forgot to record what was in this soup, combined table side. David remembers the following: candied onions, Parmesan broth...and tasty.

I commented on how much I liked the texture the crispy wild puffed rice on the scallop dish we enjoyed next.

“Usually when something is missing from a dish, it's something crunchy or fresh herbs. Crunch is the only way you can hear food; it becomes part of the whole dining experience.” Steven says.

Pan seared sea scallop, turnip and tomato puree, braised lentils, browned butter, crisp puffed rice with celery leaf

Potato gnoccis with Parmesan cream, house-made sausage, pork and mushroom and crispy potato chips.

What are your thoughts on the general environment after opening the restaurant?

“There's always two sides to the story. Usually, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. We're here to respect the history of a famous building that's had 5 different restaurants in it, in a great city that has tremendous potential in the agricultural belt. All the things I had been looking for. I'd been looking for about 7 or 8 years.”

Warning, Pork overload! the Porkopolis, featuring Navy bean with dijon and shallot, and pork multiple ways, including ossabaw cross—a heritage hog from Virginia—tenderloin, short rib and baby back ribs, cooked for 18 hours low and slow in their own fat.

“Some people had started to take sides, and we went through a variety of ways of handling it. In the end, it was a very driving force for us. We are here to cook. And if there were people that were hoping we didn't succeed, it drove us that much harder."

The restaurant opened fairly quickly—exactly 39 days to the day they started prep to the day they opened. At one point in time Steven had 8 people in his loft in OTR on air mattresses helping them prepare for opening and those first few weeks of service.

Despite the positive attitude, the start was a little rocky. At one point, Steven said, there were more negative comments on Urbanspoon than people who had eaten at the restaurant. A fraudulent Facebook page was put up for the restaurant, saying offensive things about the Cincinnati community, supposedly on Local 127’s behalf.

“I've opened restaurants in Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., Miami Beach, New York City, Las Vegas. I'd never seen anything like it,” said Steven, shaking his head with a wry smile.

“Our goal became to fight for the truth. Don't worry about the haters—anyone out there that had a preconceived notion about what we were doing here. Our goal became to convert them. And quite honestly, we started out giving out chocolate chip cookies our opening week, as a sort of peace treaty!

"We're here to cook good food at a fair price and be a part of the city, support the farmers, the local economy and environment. I wanted to be a part of this type of restaurant, wanted to get connected with cooking of farm to table style, I think partly because as a sommelier, wine kept drawing me to the birthplace of the grapes, and I think food should have a sense of place as well. Many of the great food stuffs—our ham, for example—have such a connection with place.”

“Great food has to come from great farmers who care about what they’re raising.”

Apple crumble: caramelized apples. Oat crumble, bourbon ice cream and caramel gastrique.

Steven revealed his thoughts on the dark, flavorful graham crumble and one of Local 127’s signature desserts:

“Don't be afraid to pursue that deep mahagony color and flavor from thorough toasting. The flavor gets much more intense. The complexity is amazing, and it really takes that to another level. Cheesecake is a custard. What many people may encounter as cheesecakes are overcooked. We chose to make it in a jar, in a water bath, and watch it carefully. As soon as it starts to come off the side of the glass, you've overcooked it.”

Buttermilk panna cotta. Sour plum puree, little crumble, and buttermilk panna cotta put in whipped cream can to create a panna cotta two ways.

David commented on the unique flavor sour plum puree featured with the panna cotta dish lends to it.

“We're big fans of acids here. Acid is a great way to lift flavors up without over salting. One of the biggest strengths I have in the kitchen was my wine tasting training. We try to make sure all dishes have a balance of flavors—sort of like a conductor writing a music score—too much cymbal and it's out of whack. Ingredients change within the season, too, which is a challenge. We do use lots of salt in our sweet food. Growing up, I never understood why people put salt on their melon. Now I get it.”

How do you select the ingredients you use?

“We have a lot of house-made ingredients, but, for example, also have 15 different types of vinegar back there. We taste our vinegars and our cooking wines just like we do like we do wines by the glass. Cheap vinegar tastes like cheap vinegar. They're caustic, hot, bitter, sour. We’re very particular, and it makes a big difference.”

How have you seen the city change since you’ve opened?

“In the year and half that I’ve been here, OTR and downtown are much more vibrant. I've been living on 14th and Main. I spend a lot of time in the whole area, walking, riding my bike, taking advantage of a lot of the new bars and restaurants that are opening up.

“Vine street is becoming more and more alive every day. Our walk-in traffic has been much more than we anticipated, especially once we realized we were off the main traffic pattern.

“Cincinnati is an amazing city with a lot of potential. And while we appreciate all the customers and businesses that have supported us so far, I think that the people that live in the areas surrounding Cincinnati don't support downtown as much as they should, and they’re really going to miss out on a lot of the great changes this city is undergoing.

“A lot of the suburbs have become a lot of little villages. The city's center was where it all started. It was the center of commerce, center of travel, center of migration. And if they allow downtown to dry up, it’s like allowing your heartbeat to dry up.”

What can you tell us about the changes with Tonic on 4th’s location?

“Bringing Tonic back over here has brought a lot of energy back to this side of the restaurant. A craft cocktail bar of that size was a little too ambitious, and it was becoming evident that it wasn’t going to continue to support itself.

　

"Quite honestly, I should have done it six months ago. Now it's more intimate, it's smaller. The craft cocktail program is available in the restaurant as well, and we'll probably have the entire menu available up in the new Tonic loft space. Tonic's old location is now an event space, and we can handle from 10 to 300. We'll be trying to host events of all types in the future, including live music.”

Any final thoughts on the progress and evolution of the restaurant?

“I think a lot of the negativity is now water under the bridge. I think most people realized that we want what's good for Cincinnati too. We're not in it for the money, not in it for the fame. We're here for the direct connection to hospitality and making people happy. It's a very tough business to be in if you're not in it for the right reasons.

“We believe that hospitality is bringing someone into your environment and making them feel comfortable and welcome. Over a year and a half later, if the place were to close tomorrow, we would have felt like we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.”