In the culinary world, it’s becoming quite evident that with the ever widening range of flavors ushered in by the craft beer movement, a reevaluation of beer’s place at the table of fine dining is underway. Beer is challenging the long held belief that wine should be the only beverage considered when pairing with fine food, dessert and cheese. Yes, I said cheese. In fact, in recent years many top wine editors and sommeliers have been forced to acknowledge beer’s capability to pair with cheese, is on par or even better than that of venerable wine.
Beer has a few extra tricks up its sleeve that wine simply doesn’t; carbonation being one of the most important. Beer’s “fizz-factor” helps to cut through the fat that will inevitably coating your tongue when eating any cheese worth its salt. The scrubbing bubbles in beer will cleanse your palate, allowing you to taste the subtle flavors of the cheese that were previously hiding behind that creamy coating. Unlike the one bubbly note sounded by champagne, beer’s carbonation exists in nearly every style; light, dark, hoppy or sweet. Others flavor aspects of beer such as malty sweetness, serves to contrast with salty or acidic flavors, while bitterness can complement and harmonize with those same flavors in the cheese.
Last May, I attended a tutored beer and cheese tasting conducted by Author and Brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Garrett’s expertise in the area of pairing food and beer is widely recognized. He has appeared on the Food Network and His 2003 book “The Brewmaster’s Table” is a beer pairing bible of sorts. His passion for good food and beer is more evident in his enthusiasm than with his waistline, which is more than I can say. He opens up every beer and cheese discussion by pointing out the obvious fact that beer and cheese are both fermented farmhouse products and both are derived from grass; cow feed in the case of cheese and barley in the case of beer. He insists that “beer and cheese belong together”.
Here are a few suggested pairing s based on locally available beers.
Witches Brew (Belgian Strong Golden ale) with Triple cream cheeses (Brillat-Savarin or St. Andre)
Irish Dry Stout (Guinness) with Dubliner cheese
Mountaineer, Sierra Nevada or Burning River pale ales with cheddar cheese (Medium to sharp)
Oktoberfest beer with Monterey-Jack or Jarlsberg
Ayinger, Paulaner or Spaten Hefeweizen with Chévre goat cheese
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter (or any Porter) with Gruyére or Comté cheese
It’s an easy mistake to make for a beer-centric geek like me; I was introduced to Rogue Chocolate-Stout Cheddar and immediately assumed that Rogue brewing was in the cheese business. Actually, Rogue Creamery, like the brewery, is located in Oregon but is not affiliated with the famed brewery except for the fact that they have created a cheese that blends Rogue Chocolate Stout with their buttery cheddar. 
