Beer and cheese pairing is growing in popularity amongst the craft beer crowd and is starting to trickle into the local culinary scene. In Victoria, Spinnakers has their B.C. Artisan Cheese Taster appetizer course and Ottavio hosted a tasting with Phillips Brewing. Chef Lee Humphries of Vancouver’s FigMint Restaurant has hosted a number of pairings for his popular “On the Wood” series in their lounge, which return on March 13. The Alibi Room and Mount Pleasant Cheese have also explored the affinity of barley and dairy.
In pairing cheese with beer, a general rule of thumb is to start with light beers paired to light-tasting cheeses and progress in both flavour intensity and beer strength. Malty beers go with aged, nutty cheeses, like Gruyère; bitter ones with sharp cheeses, such as aged cheddar; and strong, sweet beers with blue cheeses. When going from pairing to pairing, beer’s carbonation conveniently cleanses the palate.
Recently, Salt Tasting Room held a Québecois beer and cheese tasting in their cellar where General Manager, Kurtis Kolt, is hosting weekly events. While it’s easier to get beer from La Belle Provence than wine, our selection here is still quite limited compared to the numerous craft breweries that have sprung up there.
Local sommelier and beer expert, Chester Carey, led the tasting. He started off the evening with a concise history of beer, beginning with its Fertile Crescent origins, while participants enjoyed a Unibroue Éphémère Pommes. Thereupon we progressed to the pairing of six beers and cheeses in two separate flights of three each. Baguette slices, cornichons, and a selection of olives accompanied the cheeses.
The tasting began with Unibroue Blanche de Chambly and Le Cendrillon — an ash-covered, surface-ripened goat cheese. The two other pairings in the first flight were Unibroue’s triple wheat Don de Dieu with a Le Baluchon and Unibroue Trois Pistoles with Mushroom Oka. I found the latter a particularly good match, with the roasted malt flavours of the ale complementing the dark flavour of the mushrooms.
The second flight consisted of Bergeron Gouda with Unibroue Fin du Monde, Providence Oka & Unibroue Maudite, and Sancy Bleu d’Auvergne with Dieu du Ciel Route des Épices (Spice Route). The latter beer is an intriguing peppercorn rye ale with a bready, malted chocolate taste and a spicy, tingling finish. The Bleu d’Auvergne it was paired with was actually from France because the Quebec bleu that was ordered, didn’t come in that day’s delivery. Zut!
The grand finale to les bières et fromages du Québec was a 5% ABV Dieu du Ciel Rosée d’Hibiscus. This Belgian-style wheat ale, made with the addition of hibiscus flowers, was a light, fragrant dénouement to the flavour climax of bleu and spice. It was certainly a hit with the female participants. One remarked, “…it was unlike anything I had ever tried before, sweet and floral… I’m pretty sure I could drink a six pack of these before noticing that I had forgot to come up for a breath!” Formidable!
~ RG
