Anderson Valley Brewing and Cheese Pairing

It might surprise some of you, but I’ve been a fan of recording my beer experiences since before I started this blog. While looking through my notes I found a beer and cheese pairing I did with Anderson Valley brews. It was a fun night, and opened my eyes to some interesting flavors, so here’s a recap of the evening back in August.

I know nothing about cheese, so I turned to the help of the local specialty grocer and the Brewer’s Association website. They have a great sheet that pairs beer styles with food, desserts and cheese. If you’d like to look at it yourself, you can find it here (Warning, it’s a PDF)

Started with the Pale Ale. Always a good beer. Very hoppy, with a nice balance of floral character and bitterness. We paired this with a Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar. Very good pairing. The bite of the cheese brought out the complexity of the hops. This is a running theme through the night. The woman at the deli deserves mad props for helping me find the right cheeses.

Second was the Wheat Ale, paired with the Buffalo Mozzarella. The Ale was rather timid, it went down easy but didn’t really have much to it. After tasting the cheese, also very mild, very subtle flavors emerged. The cheese was tart which matched the wheat and a subtle sweetness remained.

Next was the Cerveza Crema, Summer Solstice. This was paired with a pepper jack from Sonoma Jack. The beer was very drinkable, rich malt flavors with a mild hop bite at the end. The Creamy spicy jack went perfectly with this.

Boont amber Ale was next with Port Salut cheese. I love this beer. Sweet maltiness with a balance of hops, it’s very easy to drink. The Port Salut was creamy with a little more creamy. This pairing could only be described as decadent. Very sweet, rich flavors all around.

We made the turn and started with the ESB and a Wallace & Gromit (yes the cartoon characters) Wensleydale Cheese. The ESB is my least favorite of the Anderson Brews. It’s thin, overly bitter and just not very appealing. The cheese went well with it, very dry with a sharp acidity. Overall, nothing memorable.

On to the Hop Otin I.P.A. This brew was paired with a Cambozola, which is like a cross between brie and blue cheese. Jen picked it perfectly. This combination tasted like the farm animals at the county fair. The cheese was horrible with the beer. By itself, the IPA is a fairly malty brew, pale in color with a big kick of hops. I love the beer but will never do this combination again.

On to the Porter. I love Porters and this one was exactly what you expect. A deep coffee color with a hint of black patent malt staining the head. Nutty, malty with a refreshing kiss of hops to cleanse the palate. This was paired with a cave aged Gruyere which is some kind of Swiss I guess. Dry and bitter it balanced the porter well.

Finally, Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. This brew is generally listed among the best brews in the world, making more than one book I’ve read that claims to list the world’s top 50-100 beers. Sweet, not overly bitter, yet dark and complex. This was paired with an aged Gouda. This was the best combination I had tried. The flavors were very aggressive but brought each other out.

All in all it was a fun night. Around beer #6 the evening spiraled into chaos. We were all drunk and my wife’s friends were more interested in just eating the cheese than trying the beers. What were supposed to be 4 oz tasters grew into 8 oz pours, and I ended up with a full pint of stout and a chunk of Gouda slouching back in my chair alternating small bites and generous gulps of beer.