Why Beer Pairs Well with Cheese and How to Do It

In June of 1982, the first Great American Beer Festival was held in Denver. Twenty-four breweries served 47 beers, laying a cornerstone for the craft beer movement. About a year later, a food science academician and a handful of pioneering cheesemakers convened the first American Cheese Society conference in Ithaca, New York. These two events could be considered the beginning of two parallel food and beverage movements.

For the past four decades, small-scale brewers and cheesemakers (and those who enjoy their efforts) have completely remade the landscape of beer and cheese in America. That's great because beer and cheese are so complementary.

Let’s talk briefly about why that is, and then I’ll recommend a few drop-dead pairings that may convince you that beer does more for cheese than any other adult beverage.

Bubbles and Cheese

Of course, there is a deep tradition of pairing cheese with wine. Many books have been written on the topic, but when you read those books, you find that when a cheese doesn't have a clear wine mate, the simple solution is to "try sparkling wine."

Those delightful bubbles help lift a fatty cheese and scrub the palate so that the next bite is just as delightful, (and perhaps different from) the prior. That said, sparkling wines make up just a small percentage of the wine world. In contrast, about 95% of recognized beer styles are carbonated. It can also be argued that beer is the most complex of adult beverages in terms of ingredients, how it is produced, and the flavors, aroma, and mouthfeel--the equivalent of texture in a beverage. Oenophiles may take issue, but they would be hard-pressed to prove that the broad totality of beer styles offers less variety than do all the world’s wines.

Beer Versus Wine

Beer complexity has much to do with the fact that it is more a crafted product than an agricultural one. While wine is derived from crushed, fermented grapes, beer is made from a hot water extraction of malt and hops, that is ultimately fermented by yeast.

It is easier to understand where beer flavors come from when you understand the basics of the brewing process, but to simplify things for discussion, beer flavor is primarily a balance of sweet and roasted flavors from the malt and the bitterness (plus aromas of herbs, flowers, and fruits) derived from hops.

Keys to Pairing Beer & Cheese

Bitterness
Resonance
Contrast

Bitterness of Beer

Among alcoholic beverages, bitterness is a bit unique to beer, and it can be quite helpful when it comes to food pairing, explains beer expert and author Randy Mosher, who has conducted critical beer and cheese pairings for decades. “Bitter cuts sweet, and bitter cuts fat,” says Mosher adding “If it is sweet or fatty, bitterness is your friend.”

In addition to having written several books about beer and brewing, Mosher is currently working on an exploration of the science of tasting and how our brains, mouths, and experiences work to shape what we sense when we enjoy food and drinks. He notes that some of the same guidelines in tasting and pairing any food and beverage will apply to beer as well. For instance, the notion that matching the intensity of flavor and aroma in your pairings is crucial.

“You try to avoid the Bambi vs. Godzilla effect. Bud Light and chocolate cake, as an example, will be a disaster,” he explains.

Resonance versus Contrast

Another pairing principle that applies is that of resonance vs. contrast pairing. Sometimes a sweet flavor contrasted with a bitter flavor will work amazing well, and in other cases something mild and milky might be the perfect complement to a sweet fruity flavor. Mosher points to a tasting he did many years back while preparing for an event in Chicago. “We had a hefeweizen with burrata, and it was literally like peach ice cream in your mouth.”

Using Your Senses to Taste Beer & Cheese

Look
Smell
Taste
Touch

Depending on the style, beer should be chilled to the proper temperature but not ice cold.

Look: Pour it into an appropriate glass, and watch as the bubbles start to dance. Hold it to the light and notice the clarity or opacity.

Smell: Quickly take a couple of short sniffs and then a long one.

Taste: Now hold some in your mouth and then swallow. Exhale next and then inhale. You should experience a minor multitude of flavors, aromas and visuals.

Next, turn your attention to the cheese, which has been held at room temp for 30 minutes or more.

Look: Notice the texture, and notice the color. Are there openings? Does the rind look thin, thick, fuzzy? Is the paste oozing, shiny or dull?

Smell: The rind might smell much different from the inner paste: Earthy, milky, nutty, onion, meaty, roast, bakery goods, or gym shoe?

Touch: Take a small piece and play with it. Bend it, break it, and squeeze it. Is it crumbly, tacky on the rind?

Taste: Take a small piece and place it in your mouth. Let it sit on your tongue and press it to the roof if your mouth so that it begins to dissolve and then swallow.

Sip the beer. Next, put a piece of the cheese in your mouth until it softens. Then take another sip of the beer. Finally, both in your mouth together. Often, this is where the magic starts. Flavors are enhanced, amplified, or defeated and new flavor notes emerge. Take a bigger sip the beer because beer is good. Do it again if you like, or clean your pallet with plain bread or a simple cracker. Now you might be ready for another pairing, or you might stick with the winner that you just discovered.

Beer & Cheese Pairings

Here are some specific pairings that show why beer and cheese are such a great match.

Moses Sleeper with Ayinger Bräuweisse

This pairing demonstrates the importance of intensity of flavor when pairing and sequencing. These products are relatively mild, and each could be obliterated by a massive, heavily flavored partner.

Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro, Vt., began making this petite, soft-ripened cheese more than 20 years ago from fresh milk of the farm’s Ayrshire cows. In peak condition, Moses exhibits a delicate bloomy rind embracing an oozy, shiny paste brimming with earthy mushroom flavor rivaling that of the best French brie.

Bräuweisse is a classic hefeweizen made by Privatbrauerei Ayinger, a 150-year-old brewery located about 20 minutes outside of Munich. When this beer is presented appropriately, from the bottle or tap, it is a prime example of the style--cloudy and filled with spicy, fruity flavors. With hefeweizen, the yeast (hefe) is allowed to play a big role, mingling with the wheat/malt flavors to produce aromas and flavors that are markedly different from those in other traditional beer styles.

When the subtle, creamy mushroom flavor of the cheese meets the banana/clove flavors of the beer a new palate emerges that might remind you of a fruited pastry. Alternates include: Nancy’s Hudson Valley Camembert, Old Chatham Creamery; Mt. Tam, Cowgirl Creamery; Hefe, Widmer Brothers Brewing; local-made cow’s milk bloomy rinds and local Hefeweizen. Hefeweizen also pairs well with plain fresh chevre and with burrata.

Hook's Five Year Sharp Cheddar with Anti-Hero India Pale Ale, Revolution Brewing

Hook's Five Year Sharp Cheddar and Anti-Hero IPA

Here is a fine resonance pairing. The sharp, acidic flavor of this crumbly cheddar is reflected in the bitterness and piney flavor of the IPA.

Hook’s Cheese, Mineral Point, Wis., produces a broad selection of hand-made cheddars and blue cheeses from premium, pasteurized, Wisconsin milk. The Five Year offers a classic sharp flavor and a satisfying fudgy/sandy, crystalized texture.

Anti-Hero IPA is the flagship beer of Revolution Brewing, Chicago, one of Illinois’ most well-established independent craft breweries. Revolution blends five classic hop varieties to create a symphony of citrus, floral, and pine aromas, with a balanced flavor and 65 IBUs of bitterness on the finish.

The cheese flavor lingers long, and the bright flavors and carbonation of the beer lift the cheese flavors and double-down for a big umami explosion similar to a well-seasoned roasted veg and rice dish. Alternates include: Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, Tillamook Maker’s Reserve, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Stone IPA, and Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.

Colston Bassett Stilton with On and On Pt. 4 Double Barrel-Aged Stout, Half Acre Beer Company

Colston Bassett Stilton and On and On Pt. 4 Double Barrel-Aged Stout

When an earthy, savory cheese with a hint of saltiness meets the sweet, bold and boozy flavors of a barrel-aged stout, you have a beautiful contrast pairing.

Set up as a cooperative in 1913, Colston Bassett Dairy, Nottinghamshire, England is still owned by the farmers who supply the milk, and a handful of local residents. Milk comes from the grazing cows of farms located just a couple of miles from the creamery. Neal’s Yard Dairy, London, sells and exports a proprietary Stilton from Colston Bassett that is widely available in the U.S. The cheese is rich, creamy and loaded with earthy and yogurt flavors. These savory notes and the restrained blue acidity, combined with the fudgy texture make this an all-together different cheese from other famous blues.

Over the last couple decades, American barrel-aged beer has become a vast, complex style with enough substyles to keep the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beers a vital weekend-long event in Chicago each Fall. A massive amount of raw material makes for a strong beer that becomes stronger still, more complex and more drinkable as it ages in repurposed barrels that carry the flavors of distilled spirits. Half Acre Beer, one of the city’s most successful craft brewers, fully explores and helps define the style with seasonal releases and one-off blends. On and On, is a triple-barrel aged blend whose flavor is derived strictly from beer and barrel, with no chocolate or coconut adjuncts that accent and reflect the native flavors of flavors in many barrel aged beers. This stout is black, satin smooth bold and sweet. Half Acre describes “notes of chocolate saltwater taffy, bourbon, campfire, high-kilned specialty malts & Entenmann’s™ donuts.” This beer is made in collaboration with Revolution Brewing.

These big bold flavors would trample more subtle partners, but together they serve as a sweet savory dessert, with chocolate notes mingling with buttermilk and licorice. Alternates: Jasper Hill’s Bayley Hazen Blue, Rogue Smokey Blue, raw-milk Stichelton (UK), Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, or any number of barrel aged stouts and barely wines featured at the Festival or Wood and Barrel-aged Beer.