The Art Of Pairing Cheese And Beer
It’s a time-honored tradition to pair cheese with wine … but cheese and beer … does it really work? The answer is YES! First off, the fact that beer is carbonated makes it a wonderful counterpart for cheese, cutting through all that buttery richness. In fact, some might argue that a cheese and beer pairing can offer even more complex and interesting flavor combinations than a pairing with wine. We’ll let you be the judge.
However, we do have 3 simple tips to get you going on your first cheese and beer pairing adventure!
Match up your flavor strengths.
The beer should not overpower the cheese or vice versa. Pair mild cheese with mild, lower alcohol beer (i.e. Cato Corner’s young Vivace Bambino paired with a lager). The stronger cheeses can definitely hold up very nicely against those bigger beers (i.e. Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue paired with a stout that’s bursting with espresso or chocolate notes).
Contrast or complement? That’s totally up to you!
When doing any kind of cheese pairing, you’re aiming to match flavors that either complement or contrast each other in a pleasing way. The MoonRabbit Cheddar, for example, is bursting with citrus and herbal notes. Hence we love doing complementary pairings of it with a juicy NEIPA. As for the pairing of contrasting flavors, salty and sweet are usually a winning team. Try Manchego or Pecorino with an amber ale for a little pralines and cream experience.
If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.
Don’t beat yourself up over a bad pairing! A cheese and beer pairing is meant to be fun. Experiment with different flavor combinations and take notes of which ones work the best.
Here are 6 of our top favorite cheese and beer pairings to get you going:
Oma (von Trapp Farmstead) + Belgian Ale
Saint Angel + Sour Ale
Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove) + Wheat Beer
Idiazabal + Saison
Gruyere + Oktoberfest
Bay Blue (Point Reyes) + Barrel Aged Stout
Have fun on your journey of cheese and beer! Do you already have a pairing that needs to be shared with the world? Comment below!