Part II: Let’s Party
A beer and cheese tasting showcasing the wonderful cheeses I brought back from Wisconsin and paired with local craft beers:
5 cheeses – Upland’s Pleasant Ridge, Bleu Mont Dairy Alpine Renegade & Bandaged Cheddar, Hook’s Baby Boy Blue, Crave Brothers Petite Frères
Figs, grapes, apricots, walnuts, cherry spread
Strawberry, mint and mozzarella salad
Les Frères bake with mushrooms and port wine
Baked cavatelli with white truffle and Hook’s 10 year aged white cheddar
Beef sliders with 4 year aged Hook’s cheddar on brioche bun 
Individual trifles with milk chocolate ganache, chocolate cake, and Crave Brother’s mascarpone whipped cream
8 Craft Beers, in order of drinking
#1 Fly Wheel was our first beer; light, fresh and local. Offered nice balance to the rich Mac N Cheese.
#2 5 Lizard is a Belgian-style white American ale with passion fruit, lime and coriander notes. It was very refreshing and had an almost fruity quality. Extremely versatile and paired well with everything, a great complement to the strawberry salad.
#3 Tank saison farmhouse ale. This is an overall great food beer, as it complements spice and cleanses the palate.
#4 Golden Monkey. This tripel strong golden ale was my personal favorite. Its a Belgian-style brew, similar to Delirium. Medium bodied and goes well with big cheeses.
#5 Burning River is a pale ale that went really well with the cheese plate, yet is versatile enough to pair with a lot of other foods. Hoppy!
#6 Matilda is a great choice for both beer and wine lovers, as it has a fruity aroma and slightly spicy flavor. Another Belgian-style pale ale.
Can you tell I like the Belgian-style beers?
#7 Dragon’s Milk is an American strong brown ale, aged in bourbon barrels which really contributes to the caramel, sweet, oaky & vanilla flavors. Unreal with the blue cheese.
#8 New Glarus Belgian Red, brewed with cherries and hand carried back from my trip (this is only available for purchase in Wisconsin, sorry!) was a perfect way to end the tasting. And what could be better than cherries and chocolate?
While the consensus was clear: Wisconsin has some damn fine cheeses that pair beautifully with beer, there was some disagreement over the favorites of the night. To each his own I suppose? So I challenge all of you to write in with your personal favorites and encourage you to host a beer/cheese party (or hire me to do it for you)….a perfect Sunday Fall Football activity.
*Note: For the strawberry salad and Les Frères bake recipes, please visit the Crave Brothers website: http://cravecheese.com/recipes.php