stanky cheese

Hi folks,

Greetings at the end of another wonderful week in VT.  Spring is just around the corner - I had my first whiff of manure in the air the other day - so to celebrate, I took a road trip with a good friend over to visit Shaun Hill at Hill Farmstead where I had the great pleasure of bringing home some Biere de Norma and a growler filled with his new DIPA, Society & Solitude #6, which if you haven't tried is absolutely sublime. 

On the way back, my friend and I picked up some Jasper Hill cheese to bring to our significant others.  My lovely wife is pregnant with our first so I made sure to pick up something pasteurized, Harbison by Jasper Hill Farm, a bark-wrapped bloomy rind cheese, deliciously runny and ripe.  I paired this pungent treat with some Oude Gueze Tilquin à L'Ancienne by Guezerie Tilquin, which is a must for those who love all things sour and funky.  From BeerAdvocate - "Oude Gueuze Tilquin à l’Ancienne (6.0% alc/vol) is a spontaneous fermentation beer, produced from the blending of 1, 2 and 3 years old lambics. It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, and refermented in the bottle for at least 6 months. The lambics used were fermented and oak aged in our installations. These lambics are coming from worts brewed by Boon, Lindemans, Girardin and Cantillon breweries."  What this means is that Tilquin is a blender in the same way that scotches are made by master blenders.  He creates blends of gueze wort from heavyweight lambic producers to create his own unique and brilliant product. 

Tart, acidic, citrusy, grassy, earthy and funky, Tilquin was a fantastic pairing to the deep funk of Harbison by Jasper Hill Farm.  The two worked together in a way that toned down some of the more aggressive gamey notes and highlighted the nuttiness of the cheese and the well balanced acidity and minerality of the gueze. 

And while this is a departure from the world of beer, another great match with the cheese was M. Chapoutier Les Vignes de Bila-Haut 2009 Cotes du Roussillon Villages, a lovely and shockingly affordable blend of Grenache, Syrah, and old bush vine Carignan from one of the great Rhone producers.  On its own, Bila-Haut was medium bodied and bright with punchy menthol and herbal flavors.  With the cheese, the herbal notes were tamed and a subtle berry flavor emerged.

So grab a wheel of stinky cheese and some good beer and wine and go have yourself an adventure!

e