Bavarian Cheese Lodge Pairings

In April, 2011, we took part in a cheese pairing event at Bavarian Cheese Lodge in Lisle, IL. We were fortunate enough to include our Limited Release, Desert Noir and Artisanal Ciders, and are pleased to share the pairings with you. Below please find a description of each cider and cheese:

Crispin Desert Noir (ABV 6.7%): Inspired by the Roadhouse movie "From Dusk Till Dawn" Crispin Desert Noir is the wilder side of cider. A very Limited Release draught oak barrel aged cider. Desert Noir blends apple-wine aged in Tennessee Whiskey Barrels with apple-wine aged in red wine oak barrels. It is then back-sweetened with Agave Nectar and a touch of Prickly Pear Nectar.

Cheese Pairing: Belletoile Triple Cream Brie (Fromagerie Henri Hutin, Dieue-Sur-Meuse, France), A triple-cream, bloomy rind cheese made by the celebrated French fromagerie Henri Hutin, maker of fine cheeses in the Lorraine region of France since 1922. Both rich and mellow in flavor, Belletoile Triple Cream is a soft, supple, white-rind cheese that is creamy, buttery and lucious. Pairs superbly with the mild flavors of crusty breads & nuts, but also fares well with bold flavored wines, ciders, & summer fruits.

Honey Crisp (ABV 6.5%): Crispin Honey Crisp Artisnal Reserve is a small batch, hand crafted, super-premium hard cider smoothed with organic honey for a rich, creamy, full-bodied crisp taste. Made with a unique filtration process that leaves residual natural apple wine sediment in the bottle. Give it a "bottoms up" swirl to disburse the apple sediment throughout the bottle. Honey Crisp is unfiltered and uses racked apple wine and no added sugar, colorants or sorbate or benzoate preservatives, and is best served cold for smooth, yet crisp refreshment.

Cheese Pairing: Saxony Alpine (Saxon Homestead Creamery, Cleveland, Wisconsin), A sophisticated cheese with a nutty flavor and a supple-body, as comfortable in the kitchen as it is on the table. Made from whole raw cow's milk with a light, dry, washed rind. Ripened 90-150 days. Designed to pair with beverages as well, with the best pairings found in fruity white wine, sweet desert wines, sweet ciders, or a variety of Belgian Trappist Ales.

The Saint (ABV 6.9%): Prepare to be converted. The Saint is a uniquely debonair & elegant cider, a cider to convert skeptics. Naturally fermented with Belgian Trappist beer yeast and a premium blend of fresh pressed apple-juice. The Saint boasts a sweet floral bouquet that develops a yeasty, herbal complexity. The Saint is uncorrupted by added malt, alcohol, added sugars, colorants, or preservatives. This unique cold-filtered cider is smoothed with pure organic maple syrup for a silky, sustained mouth-feel that develops complexity on the palate. Its highly elevated drinkability is never sacrificed to overbearing complexity.

Cheese Pairing: Prairie Breeze (Musser Family, Milton Creamery, Milton, Iowa), An all-natural hybrid alpine cheddar cheese made exclusively with milk from small Amish farms. This unique award-winning twist on traditional cheddar is made in small batches by a small creamery run by Rufus, Jane, & Galen Musser. All of the creamery's cheeses are made entirely with milk from hand-milked Amish dairy cows. Aged for 9-12 months, this is a dry, crumbly well-aged cheddar-type cheese, sweeter than the average, with pleasantly bold tang. Nutty and dry, this flavorful cheese pairs superbly with bold ciders, fruity beers, and orchard fruits.

Lansdowne (ABV 6.9%): A full bodied, confident & imposing extra stout cider. Fermented from a premium blend of fresh pressed apple-juice, using Irish stout ale yeast. It produces a slight hint of butterscotch, balanced by a subtle fruitiness and slightly dry crisp finish, with a uniquely full & buttery mouth-feel. Smoothed with a pure organic molasses and a kiss of organic honey for a complex, bold, heady flavor. Lansdowne is unfiltered and uses racked apple wine and no added sugar, colorants or sorbate or benzoate preservatives, and is best served cold for smooth, yet crisp refreshment.

Cheese Pairing: Black River Blue (North Hendren Creamery, Willard, Wisconsin), Made with a nonprofit co-op which has been making small batch artisanal cheeses since 1923. The creamery produces only blue vein cheeses, including this classic Blue. Made with fresh, raw, hormone-free milk. This blue is full of piquant, full, earthy flavor. Firm and crumbly, yet creamy with blue veins and pockets throughout. This cheese pairs well with big, bold, flavorful foods and beverages, especially those exhibiting a sweet, nutty quality, much like Lansdowne Cider.

Published by Scott Tuffield