SACRAMENTO, CA
Welcome to this installment of Beer and Cheese Pairings. For this edition, I’ve paired three equally tasty and diverse cheeses with Brouwerij Malheur’s beautiful and rocky Malheur 12. Let’s jump right in.
BEER:
Malheur 12 from Brouwerij Malheur is a dark brown ale with a malty and cereal flavor. It has a full and round taste with a hint of sweet alcohol and bitter coffee. This beer is highlighted by touches of nuts, honey and rum from brown candy sugar. This ale should pair nicely with these cheeses.
CHEESES:
Maple Smoked from Grafton Village Cheese is cold smoked over smoldering maple wood chips for up to four hours. This transforms the cheddar into a smooth, smoky delicacy that is equally subtle and flavorful. This cheese was great on its own, but its power was a bit combative with the beer. 
Nero Imperiale (Black Imperial) is an Italian cheese imported by Tony’s Fine Foods. This cheese undergoes a prolonged ripening in underground cellars on planks of pine and is then submerged in the balsamic vinegar of Modena, PGI. Its flavor is bold with the sweet and sour tang of vinegar. This was my favorite pairing of the day. The tanginess of the cheese played wonderfully off of the sweet notes of the beer.
Belletoile® Triple Cream Brie is a luscious cheese from Henri Hutin® and imported to the U.S. by DCI Cheese. The name translates to “beautiful star,” and the cheese lives up to it. It is made from cow’s milk with additional cream added to give it a decadently buttery feel. This was my favorite cheese of the day, but it didn’t reach the same balance with the beer as the Nero Imperiale. Some of its subtle flavors were overtaken by the Malheur 12.
Be sure to check back for more delicious beer and cheese pairings.
