Beer and Cheese. Its a great combo.While passing through Wisconsin I had the good fortune to stumble upon New Glarus Brewing, and brought home a good deal of beer from them and some cheese from the area giving me the chance to host a local Wisconsin beer and cheese pairing session. The results were tasty, I assure you and in the hopes that you will give beer and cheese a try Id like to share my pairing notes with you.
Spotted cow ( Saison Style) with brown cow Baby Swiss:
Spotted cow turns out to be a very light interpretation of the saison style. Brewed with corn, light, refreshing, with just a hint of the belgian "funk" of lemon and grass. Very nice beer. Apparently is 70% of their sales. The lightness and the slight funk is present in both the cheese and the beer, bringing out new flavors from both, while still keeping it light.
Stone Soup seems almost like cross between a belgian and a german wheat beer, it has a good deal of sweetness but is fairly sharp. The swiss is tasty, and the beer seems to contrast with the cheese, making an OK pairing.
Moon Man ( American Pale Ale) with one year aged Cheddar:
The beer has a strong nose of citrus, especially grapefruit, however the taste is much milder, with a fairly low bitterness. The cheese is a very rich creamy cheddar, I cant say the pairing is good. The dominant citrus in the beer just does not have anything to grab on to in the cheese.
Fat Squirrel ( Nut Brown Ale) with ten year aged Cheddar:
The nut brown ale is just how I like it, subtle nuttiness, dash of smoke, balancing sweetness, and a strong bitter middle. Cheese is sharp, as one would expect, but also retains more creaminess that i would imagine. Pairing is good. Specifically the nut flavor and bitterness in both come together well, and the sweetness and carbonation in the beer contrasts with the cheese to form a new flavor experience. Cheddar and Brown Ales are usually nice, and this pairing is no exception.
Coffee Stout and Wisconsin Belgian Red ( Wheat beer with cherries and aged on oak) with Chocolate Fudge:
Not actually a cheese pairing, but close enough. Coffee Stout does exactly what I would expect it to do. Sweet malts enhance the fudge a little, but the bitterness and astringency of the coffee beer contrasts and balances with the fudge delightfully. Not necessarily adding a bundle of new flavors but deepening the existing ones. The Wisconsin Red on the other hand brings dark cherry, earthiness, vanilla, and a host of new flavors to the party。Great on its own, paired with the fudge the Wisconsin Red becomes an event desert experience.
Overall I would say the best pairing was the Spotted Cow followed closely by the Fat Squirrel. Beer pairing is a lot of fun, and fairly easy. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of beer. Just pick up some quality beer, and a variety of cheeses and you'll probably find a good match in there somewhere. If you want to increase the odds of create a memorable pairing consider the following:
1. Match the impact of pairing elements. Make sure the "impact" of the beer and cheese are similar. This includes flavors, richness, aftertaste, really everything.
2. Compliment or contrast main flavors. Take a minute to consider the dominant flavors in both the beer and the cheese. These are not always the flavors which will come through in a pairing but usually it will be the case. Then try to either match the main flavors somewhat, or put two opposites in for contrast.
3. Have fun. Food should be about fun. You will make mistakes. Regardless if you have good beer, and good food, it will be fine.
On a final note if your ever in Southern Wisconsin I highly recommend New Glarus Brewery. Essentially what they have done with their brewery is build it, from the start, as open to visitors. The brewery is laid out somewhat like a museum where you can watch the production process from grains to bottling and ask the staff questions. Of course they have a gift shop, a bar, and a bottle shop. The set up is just amazing from a management and marketing stand point, really just a great business model. From a beer stand point its also nice because it brings in people who would not normally drink good beer, but does it in a classy way. Basically, New Glarus has branded themselves as "Wisconsin's craft beer", they do a wonderful job of this, and it really shows in their beers and their brewery.
-Eric
