Cheese and beer as a couple back on the A list. It is not new to enjoy cheese with beer, we just got side-tracked with wine and cheese. The pairing has been around since the invention of both cheese and beer by Neolithic man in about 6000 BC. Ancient cheese and beer may have tasted OK, but its pairing was perfected by medieval monasteries and abbeys many centuries later. Making both gave them the opportunity to wash cheese in beer to make it sticky, stinky and savoury.
Washed rind is the classic beer cheese, but all cheeses can be paired with a beer. Especially now with the explosion of craft beers to choose from. The main reason cheese goes so well with beer is the bitterness of the hops. It can lift and balance the flavour of cheese. Just like adding lemon juice to vinegar to lighten a sauce. You won’t get this wow moment with all cheese and beer pairings, but with a bit of experimenting you can get a good idea of what works for you. The first rule of cheese and beer pairing is own your taste buds. The second is try each combination at least twice. With those rules, the only other things to think about are: Match intensity Beers with strong flavours will over power delicate cheeses and vice versa. Big beers need a cheeses with a full and long lasting flavours. Spicy and salty cheeses such as Berrys Creek Tarwin Blue stands up to an IPA while a mushroomy brie like L’Artisan’s Extravagant pairs well with a pale ale. Balance Balance in flavour and texture, including the alcoholic weight of the beer, identifies a good match. Balance can be achieved through complementary or contrasting flavours and texture. A good example of complementary flavours is a chocolate stout that brings out the nutty and caramel flavours of Section 28’s Monforte. A contrast is the hopsy bubbles of a Belgium style beer that cleanses the savoury creamy flavours of a washed rind, such as Bunya Red. Anyone can be an expert at beer and cheese pairing. All you need to do is start tasting, be bold, try the unexpected and buck convention. Most of all enjoy the way that beer changes the taste of cheese.
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A common questions is “What type of cheese do you make?” I feel a bit of a fraud admitting that I don’t actually make the cheese. I mature it. Maturation is part of the cheese making process, but it is not where the alchemy happens. It is not turning liquid milk into curds that can be mounded into shape. Cheese maturing is the part where the cheese, already formed, spends most of its time sitting in a cold dark room.
While it looks like not much is happening, this is an exciting time in the development of a cheese. During this time the rind is formed and taste develops. It is a stage where the microbes are busy breaking down the proteins and fats to create the distinctive flavours and aromas. It is the stage that makes cheese taste and smell like it does. My days are filled with rubbing, washing, turning and brushing cheese. Giving each and every one, the care and attention they need. I could say that I am a mother of baby cheeses, a bacteria farmer or cheese wangler. Fortunately the French have a term for people who mature cheese, an affineur. Technically I am an affineuse, but that is getting a bit too French and gender specific for us Anglophones. In Europe people with skills in affinage are recognised as part of the cheese industry. Some affineurs work in big caves specialising in a single cheese such as parmesan or comté. Others have caves that mature cheeses from small producers. Providing specialist skills and facilities needed to develop the flavour and quality of the cheese. Over time there is a trust developed between the cheesemaker and affineur. There needs to be, the affineur is taking a young and raw cheese and developing it to be the best it can be. It just goes to show that it takes a village to raise a good cheese. |
About the AuthorWendy studied affinage in France. Working in the Mons caves at St Haon le Chatel and many years of travelling has exposed her to cheeses from around the world. She enjoys and respects all cheeses, but her passion is Australian cheeses. Especially unique cheeses made by small producers. Archives
May 2017
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