Cheese, please! A beer lover’s guide to cheese

You might have an inkling that I like beer. But I’m also an unabashed lover of all things cheese. So for me, combining the two is quite possibly one of life’s greatest pleasures. It’s also much better than the more popular coupling of wine and fromage. Frankly, it’s mind-boggling how beer isn’t the automatic go-to when deciding what to drink with your latest Cheddar, mozzarella or brie purchase.

Sure, there are countless wine and cheese parties going on … well, everywhere. But that’s only because winemakers have done a much better job of marketing this idea compared to brewers. I’ve talked to seasoned sommeliers who admit that the best a cheese can do is not get in the way, especially with red varietals. And yes, some whites work okay with more delicate cheeses.

However, there’s an old saying in the wine world: Taste with bread, sell with cheese. That’s because the fats in cheese tend to mask the harsh tannins common in many aggressive or young wines. Cheese makes wine taste better and hides its flaws.

What makes pairing cheese with beer work so well is a tale of complements, contrasts, and balance. Cheese generally balances the sweetness of a beer’s malt and matches the acidity with fermented flavors and a touch of fruitiness. The carbonation in beer stands up to the cheese’s fattiness and helps cleanse your palate for the next bite. It’s no accident that both beer and cheese come from grasses; beer is primarily made with barley and wheat while cheese comes from cows or goats whose diets consist of various grasses. Both manufacturing processes involve breaking them down into simple sugars and fermenting them.

Like most things, the trick is finding just the right combination. Generally, milder beers with modest strength go well with milder cheeses. Richer cheeses can handle stronger beers, and the sharper and stronger the cheese, the more complex and stronger the beer can be. Beers with stronger fruit aromas and flavors tend to be a little easier to match. And beers that are more complex or have more spicy notes are often better matches with stronger or more challenging cheeses. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Beer First:

Hazy IPA: It’s generally difficult to pair IPAs with cheese because of the variety and intensity of hops involved. However, the hops in hazy IPAs are essentially muted. The fruitiness of Manchego cheese nicely complements the juiciness of a hazy IPA.

Pilsner: A number of milder cheeses work well with pilsner. Gouda is my personal favorite, though mozzarella is nice, as well.

Pale Ale: I  believe a pale ale is about as hoppy as you should go in a cheese pairing, and a hard Cheddar is the best choice, although provolone or feta might work.

Fruit Beer: Of course, the fruit matters here, but generally speaking, Camembert has a nice complexity that can benefit from the fruit in the beer’s taste profile. Mascarpone is also a good choice.

Stouts: Big, malty stouts work well with a variety of cheese, but I’ve had good results pairing them with ricotta, Comté and any smoked variety of cheese.

Farmhouse Ales: Saisons, biere de garde, and other farmhouse ales are known for their spicy, sometimes peppery notes, usually from the yeast they’re brewed with. It means they pair with almost any cheese you’re considering.

Cheese First:

Goat cheese: Try Humboldt Fog with a wheat beer. The clove and banana notes from the yeast and the citrus tang of the cheese work wonderfully well together. A Belgian-style tripel is also a nice match.

Cheddar: A bold, rich, aged Cheddar is great with pale ales, porters or even brown ales. Basic Belgian ales, medium strength and above, can be a nice combination, too.

Alpine Cheese: A nice Alpine cheese like a Gruyere and a saison or similar farmhouse ale brings out the spiciness in both and creates a complex mélange of flavors that can include nuttiness, floral or herbal notes, or even a touch of earthy funk. Other beers to try include doppelbocks, English-style bitters or Scottish ales. What we generically call Swiss cheese can also work well with a Märzen or bock beer.

Blue Cheese: A big, bold blue needs an equally big beer, something like a chocolatey, roasty stout that brings out a salty-sweet contrast. Big barleywines, especially English-style ones that aren’t quite as hoppy as their American counterparts, or other strong, malty beers, also work nicely. Also, a strong sour beer can be delicious.

Parmesan: A Belgian-style gueuze or lambic or a Gose complement the natural saltiness of the cheese and savory notes of nuts or fruit increase the complexity in both.

Brie: The creamy and often buttery brie meets its match in a German or Bohemian-style pilsner, especially one that’s well-carbonated. A strong golden ale can work well, too.

Havarti: A rich, buttery Havarti and a sour ale takes the sweetness of the cheese and picks a fight with the tart sourness. Who wins? You do.

Smoked Cheddar: The added smoke flavors cry out for big, sweet, malty beers like a doppelbock or a Belgian-style dubbel. And, of course, Rauchbier is a natural.

Cheese Curds: A basic craft lager is just perfect with a squeaky cheese curd, but pale or amber lagers work nicely, too.

Contact Jay R. Brooks at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.