Beer and cheese pairings can be inspired
By Cindy Sutter Camera Food Editor
Posted: 10/26/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Beer and cheese have long been friends. But while the participants in the relationship used to be cheddar cubes and a bottle of Bud, nowadays it might be a cheese course with Avery Rumpkin paired with Red Leicester and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar.
The latter is the likely pairing — although it’s still being finalized — for an upcoming beer dinner at the Pinyon, with cheese supplied by Cured, a shop on east Pearl Street that specializes in artisanal cured meats and cheeses.
As craft brewing and artisanal cheesemaking have come into their own in the United States, beer and cheese are finding a place together in the hearts and stomachs of many a discerning consumer.
Coral Ferguson, co-owner with Will Frischkorn of Cured, says the complex flavour profiles and nuances of craft beers make them particularly interesting to pair with cheese. She adds that beer at its very essence is a natural with cheese.
“(There’s the) carbonation and the flavour profile of the beer, the way it plays off the cream of the cheese and a lot of those fruity and nutty flavours that cheese often has,” she says. “It cuts the fat … It almost cleanses the palate as you eat.”
For those looking for an ideal centerpiece for an impromptu gathering, whether for Halloween, Christmas or New Year’s, pairing craft beers and fine cheeses is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to go.
Cured offers cheese and cured meat platters for $7.50 to $10 a person, with beer to be purchased separately. Platters should be ordered 24 hours in advance. Or you can put together your own by visiting the store where the roughly 80 cheeses are available for tasting.
Local brewers are also encouraging pairing. Upslope Brewery has added cheese offerings from Cured in its taproom on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The platter, designed for two, features one hard cheese, one soft cheese, a blue cheese and a slice of proscuitto or salami.
“Will and I sat down and tried various beer and cheese combinations,” says Chad Pieper, taproom manager. “That was hard work, right?” he says with a laugh.
“We found that blue cheese works fantastic with our IPA. The bitterness of the IPA really helps scrub the palate,” Piper says.
In fact, the pairing Frischkorn says is his current favourite is Upslope’s IPA with Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese. Pieper likes Upslope’s Brown Ale with Idiazabal, a sheep’s milk cheese from Spain.
Ferguson says a simple way to pair cheese and beer is by colour. Lighter cheeses often go well with lighter coloured beers, she says.
“When you get into a richer darker cheese, it goes well with brown nut ales,” she says.
Joe Osborne, marketing director at Avery Brewing, says Avery often uses pairing tips from the Brewers’ Association.
Some of those include: matching strength to strength, looking for common flavour and seasonality of both beer and cheese.
However, pairings are often a matter of taste, and you may choose pairings by whether they complement (a sweeter beer with a sweeter cheese) or contrast (a bitter beer with a sweeter cheese or a sweeter beer with a strong-flavoured, earthy cheese.)
While an IPA is often paired with blue cheese, Osborne says he’s also seen people who like a sweeter beer with the pungent cheese.
“I meet more and more people who do contrast pairings instead of complementary pairing,” he says.
The brewery’s Rumpkin, a high-alcohol pumpkin ale aged in Old Gosling rum barrels, is a desserty beer with spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon that would go well with a moderate aged cheese such as a Gloucester or a sweeter cheese, Osborne says.
He adds that the the variety and complexity of beers now being made offers greater opportunities for putting together interesting pairings.
But even the old standbys have aren’t bad. Remember the Bud and the cubes? Osborne says the Brewers Association’s recommendation for a classic Pilsner is mild white Vermont cheddar.
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