The Beer & Cheese Project

BCP#4 - Ninkasi "Spring Reign Ale" & Ancient Heritage "Valentine"

The Beer: Ninkasi Spring Reign Ale, seasonal release.  Purchased at a NW Portland supermarket - I can't remember which one (we average 1.0 supermarket visits/day, so it's hard to keep track).  Price: I wanna say $5-ish/750ml.

This is a great beer, although Ninkasi's label blurbs: "refreshing seasonal ale" and "great session beer" (I'm paraphrasing) are a little optimistic.  In typical Ninkasi style, this is a very hoppy beer.  It's basically an IPA style, but it's more floral and less syrupy/malty than some of their standard hop bombs.  I love pretty much everything they do and this is no exception.  What a great addition to the Oregon beer scene.  My wife even drank this one, and she generally doesn't like hoppy beers (booo).

The Cheese: Ancient Heritage Dairy "Valentine", 100% raw sheep's milk, Scio, OR, purchased from Steve's Cheese, price forgotten. 

I finally got back to see Steve after way too long of an absence, living off of plastic-wrapped supermarket cheese and the occasional discarded bread crust.  I immediately asked about the Valentine in the case, because the Adele was so badass.  This one is 100% sheep's milk, while the Adele is a blend of sheep and cow.  Steve explained that they are seasonal, which makes sense, and is all the more reason to tank up on them during the spring.   Also, like the Adele, it's the perfect size for 2-3 people to take down as part of a nutritious happy hour.

I cut the rind lid off for easy access with butter knives.  Here is the autopsy shot:

What a great cheese!  This one is about a month old, and has ripened into a runny, salty, tangy pool with a dumpling of creamy,fresher sheep cheese in the middle. 

The pairing was fine, but nothing to go crazy about.  The hoppiness and tanginess seemed to stand up well to each other, so the beer didn't overwhelm the cheese and vice versa, so nothing to complain about.

BCP#3 - Full Sail "Black Gold Imperial Stout" 2009 & Willamette Valley Cheese Co. "French Prarie (Brie)"

Summary: great beer, great cheese, they go well together - a big winner.

The Cheese: Willamette Valley Cheese Co. "French Prarie (Brie)", pasteurized cow, Oregon, $13.99/lb. at Whole Foods in Portland.

I didn't feel too guilty about buying this cheese at a supermarket instead of a cheese shop because 1) I was buying the whole (tiny) wheel in the original dairy packaging, 2) it's a local product, and 3) Whole Foods seems to actually give a shit about the quality of what they sell.

I wasn't disappointed.  Here is a shot of the unwrapped wheel:

Autopsy shot -- check the gooey goodness:

We loved this cheese.  I tempered it for 2 hours so it was flowing a little, and the rind was slightly bitter, so I ended up cutting the lid off and we just went for it with crackers/knives/fingers.  It had a tiny chalky (not as ripe) layer in the very center, which was a fun discovery.

Steve Jenkins pretty much trashes pasteurized milk brie in his Cheese Primer, but it was written a long time ago and he's talking about "factory" cheese, which this clearly isn't.  I've never had "real" AOC raw-milk Brie, so I don't know what it's "supposed" to taste like, but this cheese is pretty great.  It is creamy, salty, and tangy.  There are some interesting grassy aromatic notes.  The little wheel was the perfect size for two people to take down without feeling gross.  I will definitely be looking to buy more of this when I see it.

The Beer: Full Sail "Black Gold Imperial Stout" 2009.  Purchased at QFC market in Portland, OR for $10ish/750ml

The Belmont Station blog was hyping the rarity of this beer (as usual) so I was worried (as usual) that I'd never see a bottle since I didn't get over there on release day last month, but (as usual) there are still bottles to be found collecting dust on the shelves of suburban supermarkets.  [Incidentally, QFC has seriously stepped up their craft beer offerings since I first started shopping there in 2004.  Their selection now is almost as good as Whole Foods and New Seasons.  Unfortunately their cheese case is still a joke.]

I was a little wary of this beer because their last bourbon-barrel aged beer, 2008's Top Sail porter, was pretty harsh.  This one is much more balanced.  It's oaky but not astringent, and the alcohol is not too hot.  It also tastes like licorice to me.  I was a little disappointed that the carbonation was low and there was not a thick brown head (tee hee).  But we both liked it a lot.

The Pairing

I sort of planned this one - my theory was that the oaky/boozy/assertive beer would be a good contrast to the rich/creamy cheese, and it worked out very well.  If you have access to either of these products I highly recommend them.