I have chosen six cheeses to try with the Potosi Snake Hollow IPA today:
- Mozzarella
- Swiss
- Parmesan
- Extra Sharp Cheddar
- Feta
- Bleu
The goal was to run the spectrum between mild and strong and to add in a variety of flavors.
Mozzarella:
Fresh mozzarella (which should be redundant, but these days isn’t), not shredded for pizza or in sticks for string cheese, but creamy, mild with just a touch of sour
- Beer first then cheese - The combination added nothing to either the beer or the cheese. It didn’t detract from either, so I suppose that’s important.
- Cheese first then beer - This smoothed the flavor of the beer some, reducing the impact of the hop bitterness and making for a clean finish; but it did not do much else for the beer. It didn’t add anything to the cheese.
- Both in my mouth at the same time - Not good. It made the cheese taste almost like sour milk. I found it very unpleasant, and it really did nothing good for the beer.
Swiss:
This was not a classy swiss of any kind: not a baby Swiss or aged Swiss. It was your standard block of swiss that you find in the regular cheese aisle (at least what you find in SE Wisconsin. I can’t speak for anywhere else). It had a mild, but nutty flavor and was just a touch on the dry side.
- Beer first then cheese - The IPA was so strong that it masked the flavor of the cheese when I first started chewing, but then after the cheese had been in my mouth a little longer it seemed to act like an eraser, completely eliminating the beer taste from my mouth and leaving only the cheese flavor.
- Cheese first then beer - Neither overcame the other in this situation. The cheese flavor faded to the background, but the nutty flavor of the Swiss remained prominent while not diminishing the flavor of the IPA. The result replaced the floral, slightly sweet flavors of the hops with an emphasis on the malty flavors of the beer, while still retaining the bitterness.
- Both in my mouth at the same time - This was much the same as leading with the cheese, except the bitterness even seem reduced, and it maintained the full flavor of the cheese throughout. I enjoyed it.
Parmesan:
The cheese was dry, but not overly crumbly. It was firm, and although the flavor was unobtrusive, it was distinct and pleasant. I have trouble defining parmesan by any flavor other than to say it is “parmesanish.” It is rich like butter, salty and tastes just a bit like the day old crust of a very good homemade white bread. But then there is a rich element for which I cannot seem to find a good comparison.
- Beer first then cheese - This was odd. I didn’t care for it, but it didn’t go quite so far as to be what I would call “bad”. The parmesan quickly scrubbed away the flavor of the beer, which helped.
- Cheese first then beer - Again, there was an odd overlap that seemed to accentuate the sourness of the beer in a way that I found unpleasant, but not revolting.
- Both in my mouth at the same time - This did not have the same odd, unpleasant effect. The tastes flowed from one into the next: sweet beer, rich cheese, dryness from the cheese, finishing with the bitterness of the beer. I enjoyed it, but this is a combination that you have to be VERY careful with because it is far too easy to have something that tastes bad.
Extra Sharp Cheddar:
Somewhat soft (this was not a 3-5 year cheddar. It was probably barely 18 months old). Buttery. Tangy, a little salty and that element to cheddar that makes it “sharp”
- Beer first then cheese - The beer seemed to sap most of the flavor from the cheddar. It wasn’t bad by any means. But it was very disappointing. The combination didn’t add anything to the beer, but it subtracted a lot from the cheese.
- Cheese first then beer - It emphasized the sweetness and maltiness of the beer while reducing the bitterness. There wasn’t much cheese flavor in my mouth except it finished with the tanginess you expect from a sharp cheddar.
- Both in my mouth at the same time - It was not bad, but it was not good. I tasted beer and cheese. The flavors did not mix well, and they each seemed to detract some of the more pleasant elements from the other.
Feta:
Very dry, very salty, a bit of sour cream flavor, but otherwise mild
- Beer first then cheese - The feta completely overpowered the beer immediately
- Cheese first then beer - There was a momentary sweetness and bitterness that was suddenly swallowed by the saltiness and tanginess of the cheese
- Both in my mouth at the same time - it was like there was a ghost of beer in my mouth, but again, the cheese completely overpowered the beer.
Bleu:
Creamy, crumbly, salty, sour in a way that makes the back of your mouth pucker, rich and tangy.
- Beer first then cheese - The beer was overcome by the cheese, but the cheese only had the “feet” flavor associated with bleu cheese. Not a good combination.
- Cheese first then beer - This was very rich, very salty, sweet, a little malty and just a hint of bitter. This tasted good.
- Both in my mouth at the same time - The same as cheese first, but more so
One bottle of beer with six cheeses and 3 ways to combine them each - it’s a bit tricky to get enough beer and not run out.
Honestly, I don’t know the best way to match cheese and beer because they seemed to pair differently depending on how I ate them and what cheese I was using. It varied. What I can say for sure:
Good Combinations:
- Swiss and IPA
- Parmesan and IPA (if done right)
- Blue cheese and IPA (again if done right)
- Cheddar and IPA (If done right)
Real bad combination:
- Blue cheese and IPA (if done wrong)
The rest weren’t great, but they weren’t bad enough to matter. I wonder if doing them as a grilled cheese sandwich would make a difference?
I suspect that there may be other cheeses that pair better with IPA. I’d be willing to give it a try. It could also be that IPA is just one of those styles that you have to pair carefully with cheese. Or maybe I just don’t know what I’m doing - but if it’s that hard, then who’s going to take the time to sit through a lot of bad combinations just to find the good ones? Well, other than me . . .
