The Cheese Insider

There is a question we get nearly every day in our cheese shops; what should we pair with the cheese we are buying? We know that everyone has different palates and that certain foods taste different to certain people. The old tried and true thinking was that good cheese should be paired with wine. Although in many cases there are some very good pairings with wine and cheese, the new trend in the world of artisan cheese is that the best pairing may be beer.

We like to suggest many different options for pairing cheese to our customers. For example, a fairly rich soft or semi soft cheese pairs very well with a fruity, crisp white wine, as well as a good, light body, lager beer. A stronger flavor cheese, like an extra aged cheddar or even a blue cheese, pairs well with a full body red, or a hearty beer, like a stout porter. One easy way to think about pairing ideas is to think that white wines and lighter body beers go well with milder, creamy cheeses, while more flavorful or aged cheeses tend to pair well with stouter beers and hearty wines.

I love to pair a really good craft beer with just about any kind of good cheese, especially a cave aged cheddar, or a wash rind, alpine style cheese. Two of my favorite cheeses are Dunbarton Blue, a cave aged cheddar with just a hint of blue. This very special cheese is made by Chris Roelli in Shullsburg, Wisconsin. My favorite alpine style cheese is Pleasant Ridge Reserve, hand crafted by Andy Hatch at Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville.

I also have been known to enjoy a good beer with another dairy product. After a good, creamy ice cream, I love to have a crisp beer, preferably a lighter lager or pilsner. I know that may sound odd to some, but it works well for me. The same reason that this combination is something I really enjoy holds true with pairing beer or sparkling wine with cheese. The bubbles and slight bitterness in beer and the sweet tartness of a good sparkling wine wash away the cream left in your mouth from eating cheese.

The Europeans, especially in Belgium and Holland, as well as other parts of the northern continent, have been pairing their hand crafted beers with cheese for centuries. The Trappist Monks in Belgium like it so much that many of the great cheeses they produced are washed with beer during the aging process. Many new, up and coming, artisan cheesemakers are beginning to experiment with introducing the use of beer in the wash rind cheeses they are producing.

The second annual Door County Beer Festival is being held in Baileys Harbor, June 15. Come out and try some beers that you may find would pair great with your favorite cheese. Be creative and have fun with pairings, there are lots of options out there for you to try.

Michael C. Thomas is co-owner of Schoolhouse Artisan Cheese with his wife Janice. With locations in Ellison Bay and Egg Harbor, they aim to bring the best of Wisconsin artisan cheeses to Door County, and with “The Cheese Insider” Michael hopes to bring all things cheese to readers of the Pulse.