Photos by: Matt McInvaleBeer and cheese. Who wouldn’t be excited about the prospect of 2 hours spent with 8 different beers and cheeses? Last Wednesday we had the pleasure of attending a beer and cheese pairing put on by two of San Diego’s finest establishments; Taste Artisan Cheese Shop and O’Brien’s Pub. Hosted by George and Mary Palmer of Taste and Tom Nickel of O’Brien’s our taste buds were taken through six flights of beer and cheese pairings artfully selected to display the many ways that beer and cheese pair together.

From a stinky, French, washed-rind, cows milk cheese paired with a smooth, light German Lager to a tangy, English blue cheese with a dark, decadent, German Eisbock we savored the flavors and had a fantastic time discussing the joys of quality beer and cheese.

Below we’ve listed the flights and a few of our notes about each one. The notes get a little sparse towards the end, I believe that’s expected and I’m going to pass the blame off on the EXTRA tastes of beer we decided we needed in order to fully enjoy the evening. Overall is was a a great class and we highly recommend it to any fans of beer and cheese, which would be everyone, right?

Flight One
Weihenstephan Lager (Germany, Lager)
Pietra Columba Blanche (France, Belgian-style Wit)
Roccolo (Italy, Raw Cow, Semi-firm)
Pont L’Eveque (France, Pasteurized Cow, Washed-rind)
- Wow, the Pont L’Evenque is stinky. Like gym socks in a locker. Flash likes it, Mel not so much.
- The Wit is nice, little spicy, like Hoegaarden. The beer brings some sweetness when paired with the Roccolo, which is cave aged on wood boards and has some tangy and mushroom aspects to it.

Flight Two
Genmai Ale (Japan, Brown Rice Ale)
Balarina (The Netherlands, Goat, Aged Gouda)
- The Balarina is aged 5 years and really shows in the salt crystals throughout the cheese. This thing is delicious.
- When paired together the nuttiness in each really stands out.

Flight Three
Sierra Nevada Estate (CA, Estate Ale)
Black Butte Reserve (CA, Raw Cow, American Original)
- A really cool pairing. The beer is “the world’s first estate beer,” Sierra Nevada grew their own hops and barley on their property for the beer. The cheese is a “farmstead” cheese where the milk used was from cows raised on the dairy’s property.
- The bitterness of the beer nicely cuts the curdy/sweet flavor of the cheese and really helps pair the freshness of the wet hops with the grassy flavors in the beer.

Flight Four
Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel (Germany, Dark German-style Wheat)
Weinkase Lagrein (Italy, Pasteurized Cow, Semi-firm Washed Rind)
Mahon Curado (Spain, Pasteurized Cow, Semi-firm)
- The room was split on who thought which cheese paired better with the beer. A sign of two really great pairings.
- The garlic and peppery flavors in the Weinkase Lagrein pair great with the yeast spiciness of the beer.
- The bold and spiciness of the Mahon Curado, it’s rubbed with paprika and oil, goes nice with the slight sweetness of the wheat and de-husked malts.

Flight Five
Allagash Curieux (ME, Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel)
Koningshoeven Dubbel (The Netherlands, Trappist Ale)
Ewephoria (The Netherlands, Pasteurized Sheep, Aged Gouda)
- Mmmmmmm, Curieux.
- Ewephoria – I want to eat pounds of this cheese.
- The bourbon flavors in the Curieux go great with the slight caramel flavor in the Ewephoria.

Flight Six
Kulmbacher Eisbock (Germany, Eisbock)
Long Clawson Stilton (England, Raw Cow, Blue)
- We’ve never had a chance to taste an Eisbock before, BIG fans.
- Dark, rich, perfect closing pairing.
- The fig paired with it just takes it over the top!