Beer & Cheese: Post-Tasting Insights

Beer & Cheese: Post-Tasting Insights
So for those of you who may not have seen my postings on Untappd the other night, I hosted a craft beer and artisanal cheese tasting for a small group of professionals is midtown.  I had the chance to talk in depth with a few people before and was thrilled to hear some pretty hilarious stories (mostly relating to beer drinking) as well as their experience with craft beer thus far.  What was even more exciting for me was to hear their thoughts during the tasting on not only the beer and cheese selections, but where they stood on the pairings.
Here’s the selections:
The Beer
River Horse Brewing Company Double Wit
Smuttynose Brewing Company Vunderbar Pilsner
Green Flash Brewing Company West Coast IPA (Check it out on Episode #46)
Keegan Ales Joe Mama’s Milk
The Cheese
Roves des Garrigues
Morbier
2-Year Aged Cheddar
Gouda, Aged 4 Years
The Double Wit was the favorite beer of the night, while the Gouda and Morbier fought each other to a near draw.  Only the coffee drinkers (myself included) enjoyed the Joe Mama’s intense notes from the cold brew coffee extract.  The crowd’s universal favorite pair was the Roves des Garrigues with the Double Wit.  I know goat cheese and wheat-based beers are generally good matches, but the 7.0% ABV had me a bit worried with a fresh chèvre.  Sufficed to say, fruity notes in the beer met the herbal of the cheese in an extremely pleasant taste and texture synergy.
I almost always use Morbier for beer tastings (not just because it’s the name), but because of its versatility with a number of beer styles.  I had experienced this The pairings I had intended (think 1 and 1 etc.) seemed to all do well, though a great many people preferred the cheddar with the Vunderbar Pilsner to the IPA and a few even liked it with the Joe Mama’s Milk.
All in all I had a lot of fun and I hope all the attendees did as well.  I always emphasize at any tasting – each experience is wholly unique and should be embraced and remembered.  I would like to believe that my palate has a shared memory with me to that end.
Life’s a tap…drink up ’til it’s dry.