Artisan Beer And Cheese Tasting

<editor's note>
From Roguemail, the Rogue Ale e-mail newsletter…
</editor's note>

ARTISAN BEER AND CHEESE TASTING
===============================
In the Oregonian, Arts & Entertainment section on July 19, 2002,
John Foyston's PDX Lite column summed up the event beautifully
before it even happened.  "Artisan Beer and Cheese Tasting:
Fred Eckhardt might be more famous for his paring of craft beer and
chocolate, but cheeses are a logical extension, and Eckharts is the man
to guide us through these treacherous but ultimately rewarding waters."

Rogue Ales Public House in Portland hosted the 2nd annual craft beer
and artisan cheese tasting on July 24th. Fred Eckhardt spoke to the
crowd of 100 about the ten pairings he selected, which were:

1.  Rogue Honey Cream Ale paired with Alan Sprint's "Hair of the
    Dog" cheese from Hair of the Dog, Portland (homemade)
2.  Lucky Lab Crazy Ludwig's Alt paired with Bandon White Aged Cheddar,
    Bandon, OR., and served with an apple slice and pretzel.
3.  Portland Brewing's Uncle Otto's Weisse beer paired with Grafton
    Village Smoked Cheddar from Grafton, VT.
4.  Rogue Mexicali paired with Rosemary Jack from Vella Cheese, Sonoma, CA
5.  Rogue Brutal Bitter paired with Redwood Hill Camellia, a bloomy
    rind goat cheese from Sabestopol, CA.
6.  Terminal Gravity IPA paired with Juniper Grove Feta from Redmond, OR.
7.  Deschutes Black Butte Porter paired with Point Reyes Blue from
    Point Reyes Station, CA.
8.  Rogue Shakespeare Stout paired with warmed Old Chatham - Nancy's
    Camembert (Hudson Valley, NY) served on a slice of toasted baguette.
9.  Glen from Hair of the Dog paired with Cyprus Grove Humboldt Fog
    from McKinleyville, CA.
10. Rogue Old Crustacean paired with Sareanah (Saterna) Italian-style
    cheese, from Three Sisters in Lindsay, CA.

Fred called the event: Oregon Beer and American Farmstead Cheese
Extravaganza, and that it was! The beers were all locally brewed.
The event was certainly Slow Food influenced--many attendees are
members of the Portland convivium. For information about the
cheeses Fred selected, visit http://www.cheesesociety.org/

To discover more about Fred's philosophy of beer and cheese, "each born
of Graminae", read his article "Beer and Cheese--It's Better Than Wine
and Cheese" in the May 2002 issue of All About Beer Magazine.
Fred includes references, suggested pairings and his insightful advice.
Back issues are available from http://www.allaboutbeer.com

Taking beer and cheese one step further I asked several beverage and food
industry folks about cheese made or wrapped with hops. Washington State
University's Creamery used to make special tins of their Cougar Gold 
sprinkled with hop leafs just for Hop Union. The folks at igourmet.com 
sell a Hereford "toasted hop" cheese and were serving a lovely porter 
cheese from Cahill Farms in Ireland (sans hops) at Oregon Brewers Fest, 
both are available from www.igourmet.com

An article by Lucy Saunders on the 2001 Cheese and Beer event at Rogue 
is on-line at: http://www.beercook.com/beercheese/roguecheese.htm
including her review of the event, and a list of the beer and cheese
pairings.

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