SACRAMENTO, CA
Welcome to this edition of Beer & Cheese Pairings. For this week’s installment, I’ve three bold and flavorful cheeses. For the pairing, I chose Uinta Brewing Company’s bright and bold Detour Double IPA. Let’s jump right in!
BEER:
Detour Double IPA from Uinta Brewing Company had a lively hop character that is kicked up a few notches with the addition of a fifth hop, Citra. This hop boosts citrusy characteristics in the beer. With such a hop-forward flavor, I chose three diverse cheeses to discover the best pairing.
CHEESES:
KoKos® from Cheeseland Inc is made from fresh, pasteurized cow’s milk and a healthy dash of organic coconut cream for added flavor and creaminess. It has a nutty taste with a hit of refreshing sweetness. It paired surprisingly well with the Detour. The brightness of the cheese was enhanced by the hop forward flavor of the Detour.
Saint André is a triple crème cow's milk cheese produced in Coutances, in the Normandy region of northwestern France and imported by Tony’s Fine Foods. This cheese is dense, buttery and rich. The rind is covered in a powdery bloomy mold and features and intense Brie-like flavor. This cheese paired beautifully with the IPA with an equally balanced and complex flavor profile, making it my favorite pairing of the three.
Coupole from Vermont Creamery is a delicious aged goat cheese that features a snow-covered dome shape, one of the creamery’s signature geotrichum rinded cheeses. It is made from fresh pasteurized goat’s milk from family farms that has been coagulated and shaped. The center has a taste of fresh milk which pairs wonderfully with the strong ripened flavor of the rind. This was my favorite cheese of the day, but when paired with the beer, it lost a lot of the delicacy of its flavor.
Make sure to check back for the next installment of Beer & Cheese Pairings!
