Making Artisan Cheese (33 page)

When in doubt, go native. Local cheese and wines tend to work well together, and can be paired confidently.

When planning a cheese course, choose either the cheese or the wine first, or pick an array of both that offers a range of possibility for all palates.

The use of herbs, spices, and crusts in or on the cheese, as they may influence the effect of the wine. Also, don’t overlook the potential for incorporating cheese into salads and other light dishes for the complementary flavors offered.

A cheese board should look sumptuous but not have a bewildering selection of cheeses. Clean-tasting, slightly acidic fruits, such as grapes and berries, complement most cheeses and cleanse the palate between bites.

Pairing Beer with Cheese

While matching wine and cheese can be difficult, selecting a beer to pair with cheese is a friendlier affair. As beer is carbonated, it cleanses the palate effectively. Beer has a broad range of flavors, running the gamut from fruity ales to hoppy IPAs, creating a long roster of potential pairs. As with wines, there are some general suggestions you should keep in mind when planning a spread.

Fresh cheeses pair well with mellow beers, such as American wheat beers, American lagers, and German lagers.

Soft-ripened cow’s-milk cheeses, such as Neufchâtel, Brie, and Camembert, are excellent companions for pilsners, porters, and pale ales.

Washed-rind cheeses, such as Muenster, are complements to English brown, amber, and Belgian pale ales.

Semihard cheeses, such as Cheddar, Edam, and Gouda, as well as the cooked-curd cheeses, such as Emmentaler and Gruyère, go well with pilsners, IPAs, double bocks, and Belgian ales.

Parmesans and Romanos need a heavier beer as a partner: try a strong ale, stout, or porter.

Because of their intense flavor, blue-vein cheeses require a beer that can hold its own. Try stronger porters, stouts, and heavier dark beers, such as barley wine.

Goat cheeses are usually a bit more flavorful, so consider pairing them with IPAs, ESBs, brown ales, and porters.

Pasta filata, particularly Provolone, are well matched with Bavarian whites and heavier Bavarian wheat beers (doppelweizen).

Balance is the key to creating an aesthetically pleasing spread. A good cheese board is like a musical trio or quartet: three or four distinct varieties coming together to create a memorable, edible experience.