Welcome to this edition of Beer & Cheese Pairings. For this installment, I’ve chosen three beautiful cheeses to pair with Abbaye St. Remey’s deep Trappístes Rochefort. Let’s jump right in.
BEER:
Trappístes Rochefort from Abbaye St. Remey is a dry beer that isn’t overpowered by its strong sugar content. It smells slightly of raisins and has a prominent taste with a lingering fruity tingle. This delicious beer should be a worthy partner for our cheeses.
CHEESES:
Pepato from Bellwether Farms is a semi-firm Pecorino with whole peppercorns. The peppercorns give this cheese a nice, subtle kick without overpowering the overall flavor. It is a raw, semi-soft sheep milk cheese with a flaky yet creamy consistency. After being aged for two to three months, Pepato is salty with tangy citrus flavors that are nicely balanced by the heat of the peppercorns. This cheese paired very well with the beer creating a tasty union of flavor. Though it wasn’t my favorite pairing, this was my personal favorite cheese of the day.
Queso Idiazabal from Murray’s Cheese is made from the raw milk of Laxta and Carranza sheep from Basque, Spain. It is lightly smoked and aged for 2-3 months. Idiazabal has a buttery texture that is complimented by an intriguing gamy character that comes from the milk rich and fatty milk. This cheese was beautiful on its own, but lost some of its intriguing flavor with the beer.
Bijou from Vermont Creamery is an aged goat cheese “Crottin.” This geotrichum-rinded cheese has a delicious yeasty flavor that is uniquely sweet. To achieve this flavor, it is dried and ripened for one week and gains sharpness and complexity after thirty days. This was my favorite pairing of the day. The sharpness of the cheese was complimented by the malt tones of the beer.
Make sure to tune into the next installment of Beer & Cheese Pairings!
