Posted on 07/26/2009 3:51:34 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Just like 50 is the new 40, beer is the new wine. Pair it with all types of foods, describing them sometimes in manners complex, sometimes simply. Both fermented and crafted by artisans in their own right, beer and cheese have walked hand in hand for centuries. Breweries and dairies historically used similar equipment in different seasons to be most efficient. Combine them classically. Good cheese is a perfect partner for a good beer. Seek the best of both worlds; it’s well worth it. Cheap cheese and cheap beer can ruin an otherwise-great day.
How to pair beer and cheese? Use your personal preferences whether you are cooking with cheese or just serving them alone. Try pairing complex beers with complex cheeses. Try and make a perfect match or play around with subtle contrasts. Here are some possibilities:
Feta and Goat Cheese works well with Wheat Beers. Typically the more pungent the cheese, the more full-character you want in your Wheat Beer. Piece’s Top Heavy Hefeweizen and Three Floyds’ Bubblegum Head are suitable pairings with a fantastic feta. American Cheese, Muenster, Havarti and Monterey Jack go with moderately hoppy Pilsners like Great Dane’s Peck’s Pilsner or Esser’s Best.
Try some Colby, Gloucester and Cheddar with robust Brown Ales. Piece makes Worry’n Ale, a subtle, malty match. Gruyére, Emmental and Swiss are best with Bock Beer, Dark Lagers or Oktoberfest Beer. Their sizable maltiness plays well against the meaty nut-like character. Ale Asylum brews the Bamboozelator, a doppleblock with a kick big enough to put a dent in the heartiest of rinds. Capital bottles Oktoberfest and a dopplebock. Parmesan or Romano are mighty with moderately hoppy Pale Ales and Amber Ales like Piece’s Full Frontal IPA or Ale Asylum’s Ambergeddon.
When cheese is part of a salad, try enjoying it with an India Pale Ale (IPA), with their citrus-like bitterness and fruity maltiness. Ale Asylum bottles Hopalicious and Two Brothers makes Hop Juice, ales to brighten any salad accompanied by fermented curd.
Try these match-ups:
Sharp Cheddar with Pale Ale Feta with Wheat Beer Mascarpone with Fruit Beer American Cheese with Pilsner Colby with Brown Ale Gorgonzola with Barleywine Gruyére with Bock Beer Swiss Cheese with Oktoberfest Beer Parmesan with Amber Lager
When sampling cheeses on their own, they are best at room temperature. With crackers or chips, use something that is neutral and bland, like English wheat products or other unspiced items.
Remember: have fun, experiment with your own tastes, and understand that beer is the most complimentary fermented beverage in the world..
Pretzels go best with beer...straight out of the oven.
What goes best with my beer is......more beer.
Nachos at Hooters.
Duh.
-PJ
Like I’m going to spend big bucks for those brews? Pretty much any beer goes with any cheese provided you have good bread to put the cheese onto. Real feta sheep cheese on bread would taste good with any of the beers he mentions
Melt any cheese on bread and any beer will go with it
Maybe he should pair cheese whiz with Milwaukee’s Best or Ripple
/johnny
Beer is the adult milk. It goes with everything well ... except sweets and CHEESE.
Pretzels go best with beer...straight out of the oven.......
It’s the pretzel’s salt that does it and the toasty Carmelization of the crust
That should produce technicolor upchuck
Mmmmmmm, tasty beer!
Plain old mac & cheese on toast, and a can of cheap american pilsner.
The most amazing foods ever invented: beer, cheese, sausage, bread, and pasta(noodles). In that order.
Now, that is appealing!
LOL! That’s awful.
I don’t have to be told twice...
Obviously this calls for Porter and Cheddar
San Adams tastes like toe cheese.
Stag and Velveeta are my favorites.
At least that's the way I was taught to do it in school.
I brew my own beer, but my skill level low; it's a gamble as to what the final product will taste like. My last batch turned out so dark and heavy the only way to make it palatable was to make Black and Tans, the tan being Keystone Light. Yeah, I know: yuck.
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