A Taste of the Season... Beer and Cheese
Greetings,
This time we take a look at the pairing of beer and cheese.
As a much younger journalist, covering the wine tastings held for the benefit of the importers, and the fourth estate, I soon learned how things worked. The importers got their products mentioned in the press and the press got to eat and drink gratis. I also received an education in the marketing of both products, tutored by some of the best in the writing business.
One of the first comandments was that there was an unspoken understanding amongst us all that cheese can make a cheap wine taste better than it actually was. The importers and the cheese mongers also had this romantic pairing tradition on their side, an easy "story hook."
An academic take on the subject can be found at the following cite: "For her masters thesis at UC Davis, graduate student Berenice Madrigal proved that even the mildest cheeses mute the subtleties of the red wine drunk with them." ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/molly-laas/beer-and-cheese-a-match-_b_51136.html )
A lot has happened since Cheese & Wine 101, when there were no more than twenty five or so commercial brewers in the United States. Today there are thousands of beers available in the North American market. There are also thousands of hand-made cheeses and breads to accompany the suds.
The pairing of beer and cheese is the subject of the following informative and entertaining works of intellectual property.
I strongly suggest you leave Fred Eckardt for last... he's the best! (My bias.)
A DOZEN WISCONSIN CHEESE AND BEER PAIRINGS by Lucy Saunders
http://www.beercook.com/beercheese/pairingbeercheese.htm
Beer and Cheese: A Match Made in Heaven? by Molly Lass
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/molly-laas/beer-and-cheese-a-match-_b_51136.html
Beer and Cheese by The Alström Bros
http://beeradvocate.com/articles/282
Beer and Cheese It's Better Than Wine and Cheese by F Eckhardt
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/food/232-cheeseandbeer.html
In the next few blogs I just might get through the soups, entrees and deserts...
Cheers!
Peter LaFrance
