It's all about Brie, of course beer too!
As part of our 4-Part Cheesy Deep Dive Series at Six Ten Brewing, last night was “All about Brie.” There is a direct connection for those who love craft beers and artisan cheeses, they not only go together in both flavors and similarities. The rich flavors of these cheeses are matched up perfectly with the direction of the Brewmaster, Chris Johnson at Six Ten Brewing and his exceptional beers. With the big flavor of the Soft Ripened Bloomy Rind cheeses Chris selected some Belgian style beers along with a well-constructed Porter. As a bonus I brought in two Washed Rind cheeses to show how the similar style can work with beers as well.
Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill & Six Ten Brewing Blouser
We started with the rich and creamy Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill, which is their most popular cheese. A pasteurized, soft-ripened, double-cream cow's milk cheese handcrafted in a camembert style. Of all their cheeses, this one highlights the grass-based milk the most. We paired this up with the Six Ten Brewing Blouser, which is a Belgian Tripel and is an elegant and clean classic Belgian triple. Fruity esters complement the pilsner base malts for a surprisingly easy to drink 8% beer. The beer and cheese balance out the rich flavors of both and you really don’t notice that the beer is at 8%, it so easy to drink and pairs beautifully with the Green Hill.
President’s Triple Crème Cheese & Six Ten Porter
The President’s Triple Crème cheese is really a great classic style triple crème, rich buttery flavors along with a nice light mushroom flavor of a rind. With all of this buttery flavors you can easily see how the Six Ten Porter would work so well with this cheese. The Six Ten Brewing Porter is a classic English style porter. They often say that this is a Florida Porter. Light in body with the perfect amount of nuttiness and a slight hint of chocolate. Which this cheese picks up on the nuttiness and you get a rich butter and nut flavor that almost cries out “it’s a dessert.”
Two of the pairings were from the Marin French Cheese Company, their Camembert and their newest cheese, Golden Gate, which is a beautiful triple crème washed rind cheese.
Marin French Cheese Company & Six Ten Porter
Marin French Cheese has been making Camembert in Marin County since 1904. This legendary “queen of cheeses” is an example of blending French tradition and California coastal character. Marin French Camembert starts with fresh local milk from neighboring Marin dairies and has a complex, aromatic character as it ages. Its interior is creamy and has a a deep golden color and thin white rind. The flavor is robust with hints of mushroom. Camembert differs distinctly from Brie by the cultures used to produce Camembert’s authentic earthy flavor and flowing texture. The Six Ten Brewing Porter has a rich nuttiness with a hint of chocolate and add in this Camembert and I got a delightful flavor of Praline, which is one of my favorite flavors, so it’s not hard to figure out which was my favorite pairing of the night.
Marin French Cheese Company Golden Gate & Six Ten Brewing Poco Loco
Similar in size to their triple crème cheese it had a wonderful earthy aroma, although this one could have ripened a bit more it was still rich in butter and nuttiness. I paired it with the Six Ten Brewing Poco Loco which is a Belgian Pale Ale that has a touch of spiciness from orange peel and a bit of coriander. Wow, these worked so well together and gave the beer a rich nutty flavor that gave both some nice richness. If you can find this cheese, grab it, this will be a star for any cheese board or even by itself.
Vermont Creamy Couple & Six Ten Brewing Blouser
The Coupole is an aged goats' milk cheese with a wrinkly edible rind and bright, fresh cheese taste. Coupole’s allure is attributable to the intriguing contrast between the strong ripened flavor of the rind and the delicate fresh taste of its interior. Buttery with a healthy tanginess and balanced by it the delicious rind, this cheese works great with the Six Ten Brewing Blouser and it’s rich malty flavors. The Blouser is a Belgian Tripel and is an elegant and clean classic Belgian triple. Fruity esters complement the pilsner base malts which settles the down the tang of the cheese and brings more rich balance to the pairing.
MouCo Cheese Company ColoRouge & Six Ten Brewing Poco Loco
When it comes to a washed rind cheese, Birgit Halbreiter does it right. Not only do you get a rich authentic creamy, buttery, nutty and well-balanced cheese, you also get a guide to it’s flavor profile on the wrapping. For those who are just trying out washed rind cheese and need some flavor guidance, all of her cheeses have a handy born on date along with a weekly ripening expectation. We paired this up with the Poco Loco is a Belgian Pale Ale that has a touch of spiciness from orange peel and a bit of coriander. The ColoRouge doesn’t overpower the beer it brings in a rich butter and nuttiness that works great with the coriander. This was the overall favorite pairing of the session.
There’s 2 more session left, a deep dive into Cheddar on Saturday, August 14th and all about Blues on Saturday, August 21st. You can get tickets on the Six Ten Brewing website. Hopefully, I will see you there.