Food & Wine
Everyone knows about wine and cheese pairings, but the affinity between beer and fromage always has been something of a secret -- until now. A growing number of culinary experts are starting to recognize what we beer geeks always have known. Beer and cheese -- especially artisanal cheese -- is a match made in heaven. Both beer and cheese balance "sweetness and acidity with fruitiness and fermentation flavors," says brewer Garrett Oliver in his book "The Brewmaster's Table" (Ecco, 2005). They're both traditional fermented, farmhouse products, whose roots lie in the grasses that ultimately flavor the final product. So it's hardly surprising to discover that some monastery breweries, such as Chimay, make both beer and cheese.
But finding just the right combination is key and that's a project I've been working on. I've chosen three artisanal cheeses for a panel of colleagues to pair with the perfect beers. Why not taste right along with us? I have some prizes for the best beer pairing for each of the three cheeses listed below, and I've offered a few tips to get you started.he artisanal cheeses
1. Maytag Blue: This is one of my favorite blues, and not just because it's owned by the Maytag family, who until recently owned Anchor Brewery. The Maytag Dairy Farm was founded by Fritz Maytag's father in Iowa in 1941, making it one of the first artisanal cheese companies in America. If you can't find Maytag Blue, any similar blue cheese should work. Barley wines and imperial stouts generally pair well with blue cheese.
2. Widmer 1-Year Aged Cheddar: I wanted to make sure I included at least one Wisconsin cheese, and Widmer's Cheese Cellars makes some great golden-orange cheddars. Even the 1-year old aged cheddar is very full-flavored. Widmer Cellars describes it as having a "rich, nutty flavor (that) becomes increasingly sharp with age. Smooth, firm texture becomes more granular and crumbly with age." If you can't find Widmer, any 1-year old aged cheddar should do the trick. For milder cheddars, brown or pale ales are often suggested; India Pale Ales are usually recommended for sharper varieties.
3. Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog: Humboldt Fog is a soft goat cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre, which describes its texture as "creamy and luscious with a subtle tangy flavor. Each handcrafted wheel features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center and a coating of ash under its exterior to give it a distinctive, cakelike appearance." If you can't locate Humboldt Fog, another similar goat cheese can be substituted. For goat cheese, experts recommend spicy Belgian ales, such as Ommegang's Hennepin, Belgian-style witbier or doppelbocks.
The challenge
Pick a cheese or try all three, then think about your favorite beers and which might taste good with them. Invite a few friends over and taste each cheese with a few beers. Then pick the one that works best. (Be sure to choose beers that are readily available; no home-brew or draft-only beers, please.)
I'll post this invitation over at Bottoms Up (www.ibabuzz.com/bottomsup) too. Post a comment there any time before May 1, and tell us which beer you think pairs best with each cheese -- and most important, why you think it works so well. What flavors does the beer bring out in the cheese, or vice versa? What makes the pairing more than the sum of its parts? What did you learn about the pairing, or about beer and cheese together more generally?
Based on your descriptions of which beer worked best, I'll choose a winner for each of the three cheeses. Each winner will receive a copy of my friend Maureen Ogle's book "Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer" (Harvest Books, 2007). It's a great read about the history of American beer from the industrial revolution to present-day craft brewers.
The following week, I'll be hosting another tasting with a number of local brewers and beer writers and I'll include your winning beers in our tasting, too. Look for the results of the Great Beer & Cheese-Off Challenge -- and recommendations for perfect beer and cheese pairings -- in mid-May.
No comments:
Post a Comment