beer & food

Beer visits the American Cheese Society

Cheese, beer and cheese, and more cheese today in the Boston Globe.

The paper reports on the 24th annual American Cheese Society conference in Burlington, Vt. You may have to register to read the stories, and the main story doesn’t seem to be online, but here goes:

– Some say beer beats wine in this pairs competition. Ann Cortissoz reports on a presentation by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Matt Jennings, co-owner of Farmstead cheese shop and La Laiterie gastropub in Providence, says: “It (beer and cheese) is the only way to go. It’s a much more natural fit.”

I also learned that a “Cheese Wars” clip from The American Brew – one of the outtakes I think, I don’t have the DVD with me – is on YouTube:

– What’s on cheesemakers’ minds. A quick looks at issues like values, mentorship and growth. What other up-and-coming artisan product might that be relevant to?

“So much is done by touch, feel, and sight,” said Rachel Cohen, a distributor for Cowgril Creamery in California. “You can’t get it from a book.”

How about extreme cheese?

CheeseWhat do you pair with extreme* beer?

Exteme cheese. A hot item in Britain.

“We don’t try to make a he-man’s cheese that is the most vicious, sharp and violent. What we want to do is to give whatever potential is in the cheese the chance to express itself to its limit,” said the man who makes it.

I’m pretty sure this is different than the Kraft Easy Mac Snack Pack, Extreme Cheese you can buy at Amazon.

* Apply whatever definition you want to “extreme” – we’ll argue about it later.

Bringing your own to the restaurant

Ever think of taking your own beer to a fancy restaurant?

I don’t mean homebrew, but a special beer you want to have with a special meal. Wine lovers often have the option, usually paying a corkage fee. After all, the restaurant is giving up a two-to-three times mark up on the bottle of wine you’d otherwise order.

Bill Brand surveyed a few upscale Northern California restaurants – starting with the very upscale French Laundry in Yountville.

French Laundry wine director Paul Roberts said the restaurant has a number of regular guests who brew their own beers and bring them to drink with dinner. The corkage fee for beer is $10, compared to $50 for wine.

“One of our VIPs who comes regularly here and to Per Se (chef Thomas Keller’s New York restaurant) usually brings beer,” Roberts said. “Their son has been home brewing for years, so every time he comes in, he brings one of his beers.”

Other restaurants indicated they’d never had customers ask, but many said that they’d be happy to accommodate customers who want to bring their own beer. They even indicated there’d be no corkage fee.

Of course if many customers start taking them up on that expect a charge to follow.

Beer, cheese and wine school

The Tria Fermentation school begins classes tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 18) with Prof. Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware at the helm.

The Philadelphia school is the brainchild of Jon Myerow, who also owns the Innovate cafe Tria. He’s focusing on wine, cheese and beer, with classes led by by winemakers, fromagers, brewmasters, authors and other fermentation experts.

Food & Wine magazine recently picked the Tria Fermentation School as one of “America’s 50 most amazing wine experiences.”

Upcoming classes include:

BEER: The Extreme Beers of Dogfish Head, with Sam Calagione, Wednesday, October 18, 6:30-8 p.m., $30.

CHEESE: The Artisanal American, with Liz Thorpe, Friday, October 20, 7:30-9 p.m., $45. Thorpe, Director of Wholesale at New York’s famed Murray’s Cheese, and co-author of the forthcoming Murray’s Cheese Handbook, will present her six favorite autumnal American cheeses.

BEER: Brewing with Wood with Rob Tod. Tuesday, October 24, 6:30 to 8 p.m., $40. Tod, Founder of Allagash Brewing in Maine, will discuss four examples of wood-aged beers from Allagash along with examples from California’s Russian River and Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin breweries.

WINE: High Elevation Wines from Down Under with Michael Dhillon. Wednesday, November 1, 6:30-8 p.m., $50. Australia’s Dhillon will share the trials, tribulations and extraordinary rewards of high altitude winemaking and small productio.

WINE: The Allure of the Languedoc with Bruno LaFon, Friday, November 3, 6:30- 8 p.m., $45. Students will learn why LaFon, a former Burgundian winemaker from the family of Domaine des Cômtes Lafon, headed to Languedoc to participate in the rebirth of the region. LaFon will host a tasting of his delicious estate wines.

WINE & CHEESE: Classic Pairings with Michael McCaulley. Monday, November 6, 6:30-8 p.m., $50. After covering wine and cheese basics, McCaulley will introduce students to some classic marriages that have withstood the test of time as well as some more modern pairings.

BEER: The Dark Side with Tom Baker. Wednesday, November 8, 6:30-8 p.m., $35. Baker, founder of recently departed Heavyweight Brewing, will debunk the myths and demonstrates the incredible diversity of black beer.

CHEESE: Spanish Dairy Rising with Adrian Murcia. Tuesday, November 14, 6:30-8 p.m., $45.

The school is located at 1601 Walnut Street, Suite 620, and the number to call for information is 215.972.7076.

Great American beer and pizzas

Headed to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival (tomorrow through Saturday)?

The Rocky Mountain News has some beer and pizza tips for you. The Rocky asked chef Jorge de la Torre, dean of culinary education at Johnson & Wales University, to recommend a beer style and brand best suited for complementing the taste of eight local pizzas.

“Beer is forgiving to any type of pizza. It’s nice and cooling, it cuts through the fat of the cheese and provides a great contrast. It can hold up to the powerful taste of tomato sauce, garlic, anchovies – things that are sometimes hard to pair with other drinks,” de la Torre said.

His picks.