There is almost no shopping experience I find more overwhelming than trying to choose just one perfect beer from the craft beer isle, except trying to choose just one cheese from the artisanal cheese isle. It all looks so delicious, and fancy. Often times I walk up and down the cheese section and after almost ten minutes of drooling and panicking, settle on the same goat cheese I got last time. Ugh
This first world problem inspired us to pair up with the folks from Katzinger’s Delicatessen to create a few local beer and cheese pairing options. We selected four beers from Columbus breweries and with the help of Stafanie Cora, the grocery manager at Katzinger’s, came up with a cheese pairing for each.
There are a number of reasons cheese experts suggest pairing with beer. The first is that cheese is simple. If you know how to cut it and store it (which if you’re like me and actually don’t, your local grocer probably will) you can serve it up at a party. Additionally —nods at local restaurant and bar owners– the fatty, salty palate-coating quality of cheese lends itself to beer drinking. People will naturally want to keep sipping that beer to compliment the cheese while also clearing that palate. The two just work.
Check out our local pairings below to test this out for yourself without the headache of research and cheese-buyers remorse.
Columbus Brewing IPA
Pair With: The Lincolnshire Poacher from Neal’s Yard Dairy. This cheese is a Farmhouse cheddar from England. It is made using unpasteurized milk and traditional methods, then aged for around 18 months by Simon and Tom Jones. Tangy, nutty and sweet notes with a lingering flavor that will hold its own with an IPA.
Sideswipe Brewing Elegant Hoodlum Stout
Pair With: Grayson from Meadow Creek Dairy. It is a washed rind which has been surfaced ripened for 60 days. Sweet, grassy, rich earthy, and nutty notes. Very well balanced.
Four String Brewery Big Star White IPA
Pair With: Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Jasper Hill Farms and Cabot Creamery. Tangy and richly sweet.
Zauber Brewing Vertigo Hefewiezen
Pair With: Cremont from Vermont Creamery. Creamy, bloomy, and fresh. Smooth, nutty, and yeasty flavor to match
full disclosure: Superior Beverage, which distributes CBC and Four String, and Zauber, are clients
