Saturday is a busy day in my household. It usually consists of running my boys around to their various part time jobs and activities first up, followed by a trip into town with my wife, to our favourite deli for a coffee and to select some of their awesome range of meats and cheeses. The afternoon is usually spent “phaffing” about in the garden which ends at beer o’clock*
It is at this time the cheese platter comes out and we are often joined by our neighbours for a drink and to catch up on the week’s events. I love this part of my week, so I thought that I would share my passion for beer and cheese pairing with some fundamental matching tips.
Brie / Soft Cheeses – are a natural match with fruits, so a beer with subtle fruit characters is a great match. The flavours of the cheese are subtle so a more mellow flavoured beer is preferred as to not overpower the cheese.
I recommend as a fruity beer, Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, 4 Pines Pale Ale, or even a lager such as a Carlsberg would go well with these cheeses.
Cheddar –A brown or amber ale is a great pairing here, the nutty flavours of the beer match with the bite of a sharp cheddar, whereas the texture of the beer is highlighted by the malt background of this beer. An IPA is also a good match with an aged cheddar or smoked cheese. The higher hop content will assist in cutting through the bigger flavours of the cheese allowing more subtle flavours to appear.
I recommend Brookes Brown Ale or Brooklyn East IPA
Blue – Both beer and cheese can trace its history back to the farmhouse (woman making both in large quantities) A strong sharp cheese needs a strong beer to support it. Therefore a stout will match just nicely. The chocolate flavours in the beer compliment very well with the moulds in a blue cheese, as from a chemistry point of view, chocolate and blue cheese are very similar in their makeup. The complimentary flavour between beer and cheese enables then the strong blue flavours to be brought back to the front of the palette.
(Try mixing a blue cheese with some chocolate at the same time, and then wash it down with a Dark Ale or Stout! – Your mouth will love you for the rest of your life!)
I recommend Coopers Best Extra Stout or Holgates Temptress
Marinated Fetta – As the cheese is in an olive oil base, a Pilsener will assist in cleansing the palette, stripping the oils from your mouth due its higher hop bitterness and refreshing your palette for another mouthful! Often these cheeses have other added herbs which will often compliment the hop flavours in the beer. A crisp Lager would also suit in this instance.
I recommend Hawkers Pilsener, Hix Beer Pilsener or Mythos Lager
Why is beer a great choice to match with cheese? Cheese produces acid; beer has alcohol which is a good palette cleanser. The carbonation of the beer will also refresh the palette.
Whereas the residual sugars in a beer like an Abbey ale, Barley wine or an aged Vintage ale will assist the cheese flavours to linger in the mouth a little longer.
Essentially, why it all works so well is that the texture and mouthfeel of the cheese, is highlighted by the carbonation, and maltiness of the beer.
Beer nurtures the flavours of the cheese in your mouth. (More flavours can be discovered as the cheese is uncovered by the hops, malts, alcohol and carbonation from the beer.)
Just remember this general Rule of thumb – Think about the flavours of the cheese and then the flavours of the beer. Try and match “weight for weight”, a big cheese needs a big beer to match. (Whether it’s higher in alcohol, malt or hop bitterness.) A more subtle cheese needs a more subtle flavoured beer.
I hope this puts a new light on your weekend cheese platter and inspires you to go out and experiment with flavours.
Enjoy!
*Beer o’clock is a fluid time (pun intended) and can be as early or as late in the afternoon as you desire.
myshoutbeerreviews 