Pairing Beer With Cheese

An unscientific taste test of different beer styles with a variety of cheeses

We all hear wine and cheese are perfect pairing partners, and that’s for good reason. Spirits and cheese is also a thing. Makes sense, for instance, certain cheeses also go really well with the right bourbon, (especially if you happen to live in Kentucky).

However, when most think of pairing cheese with beer, they’re more likely to think of a cheeseburger before simply considering cheese itself. But beer, much like cheese, can go in so many different directions on the palate, that there’s plenty to be found by bringing the two together.

I recently explored putting beer together with hot sauces, and how certain flavors affect others, so we decided to try a similar non-scientific experiment to piece together some combinations worth exploring. This works because if you think about it, beer is inherently good, and so is cheese. The only way you might make it better is by adding bacon, but we’ll skip that step for now.

Pairing beer with cheese isn’t particularly a complex process—just find a balance in the flavors and their intensity, and let the combinations flow from there. For instance, for a popular cheese like a sharp cheddar, the possibilities are vast, with a crisp lager providing the makings of a happy couple in a different way than a stout might.

I collected a few cheeses, in part thanks to the help of the folks at Isigny St. Mere, in the form of a Bonhomme brie and a full-flavored milomette that was aged 18 months. To provide some milder flavor profiles, I also added a simple gouda from Boar’s Head and a sharp white cheddar from Murray’s to the mix.

Throw in a variety of beers, from a blond to an Irish stout, and the tasting I completed over a couple of sessions made for a fun exercise, taking it one beer at a time and putting the cheeses through the gauntlet.

La Rubia Blonde Ale, Winwood Brewing Co.

This soft-bodied, easy-drinking beer brings a manageable 5.0% alcohol by volume and offers plenty of range, but my favorite pairing as I got started was with the brie. The buttery cheese brought a mushroom-like, earthy quality. The ale, in turns, offers light malt sweetness for balance, yet just enough hop bitterness (a mild 16 IBUs) to mingle with the nutty flavors of the cheese. This beer also works as a suitable companion with the mild gouda and was good in a pinch alongside the sharp-but-not-over-the-top sharp cheddar. You won’t go wrong with this one, whether you’re chilling with friends or on the couch watching The Mandalorian. Also recommended: Great Life Brewing Classic Cream Ale , gold medal winner in the 2019 NY International Beer Competition.

1906 Red Vintage ‘La Colorado’, Estrella Galicia

This amber lager carries a bit more body than a comparable amber or red ale, with a bold, malty profile and 8% ABV, but the caramel-like flavor and sweetness made for a perfect companion alongside the brie, which put those earthy, nutty flavors with the caramel for an almost buttery sweetness. The two ingredients came together as a pleasing blend that was difficult to move away from. This beer also added sweet balance to the dry, nutty, salty dankness of the almost chewy mimolette. Also recommended: Bhramari Brewing Painted Fortune, silver medal, 2019 NYIBC.

Space Dust, Elysian Brewing Company

I love a bright IPA, and this is one. Sure, I still appreciate a meltier, old-school IPA, but the addition of Citra and Amarillo hops in this brew helps it to shine. I was not the least bit surprised when both the sharp cheddar and gouda stepped forward as nicely mild companion cheeses. With lightly bitter, interestingly fruity and fading sweetness of the IPA coming from a similar place as the cheeses, it only made sense, with the beer adding a cleansing quality on the palate that keeps you coming back for more. The gouda’s own brightness seemed particularly appealing to my palate. That said, while the bitterness of the IPA at moments clashed with the bitterness in the brie, it made for an interesting balance to the musky, yet somehow vaguely fruity characters in the mimolette. That made for two big flavors and heavily contrasting mouthfeels coming together in a somewhat awkward dance that still managed to keep time. Also recommended: 2019 NYIBC American Style India Pale Ale silver medal winner Hinterland Archaic Revival.

Guinness Irish Stout

Guinness goes with just about everything, right? The classic beer was more than welcome here, with its classic blend of bitter and chocolaty sweetness along with a surprisingly clean drinkability. I paired it first with the white cheddar, and for a moment the combination was so classic I felt like I could be in an Irish pub. The two flavor profiles came together, with sharp tanginess of the cheese meeting roasted bitterness in the middle, and the subtle sweetness filling in the gaps.

Honestly, this beer also was fine with the mimolette and gouda, as well, but for this round, I added a spicy, homemade beer cheese I had leftover from the holidays. I had loaded it with cayenne powder, a habanero-based sauce, garlic and more, and the stout was on point, as expected, bringing balance to the relative pungency. Probably why Guinness is one of the world’s favorite brews.

Christmas Ale, Anchor Steam Brewing

This 45th annual version of the wintertime classic has evolved over the years, with the recipe (and label) are always being tweaked, but it still achieves what it always sets out to be—a lightly spiced and assertive winter warmer. Roasty flavors of coffee and chocolate take the palate to new places, with malt sweetness offset by a boozy body and subtle spices. The bountiful nose on the beer paved the way for a tasting comparison that had my palate reeling.

Pairing the brie with this beer was a flavor explosion that worked even when it seemed in moments that it might not, as the nuances of beer and cheese intermingled on my palate. The beer’s malty sweetness put its best foot forward here. The milomette also held up well with the sweet-meets-spicy beer with the warming finish.

And while the cheddar was a nice, gentle foil for Christmas Ale, the gouda was just a tad overmatched, though the cheese’s creaminess helped ease the mild kick on the beer’s finish. As for my homemade beer cheese, well, let’s just say the flavor and spice profiles were a tad dissonant and leave it at that. Also recommended: Samuel Adams Cold Snap.

Once all was said and done, while my palate was a tad worn out, the end result was the discovery of some flavor combinations worth seeking out.

And a full belly.