Chimay Blue with Teleme

So the Teleme has been in the fridge for eleven day and its starting to ripen and smells delicious. Like the dankest yogurt ever! Chimay is a near perfect Belgian strong ale and the cheese was described in the previous entry.

Chimay Blue
Aromas of spice (nutmeg, clove, anise) carmelized brown sugar fruits (raisin, orange, plum, banana) and a blue cheese like yeastyness. The nose is deep and alluring, strong and inviting. Some carmelly malt is present as well, but the floral spicy yeast dominates. Flavor is like the best apple cider you ever had. A woody malt start flows slowly into a rich fruity mid with carmelly finish. A delicate and incredilbe transition of flavors, like really good scotch. The spices noted in the nose intermingle with rich dark fruit malts and elegant belgian yeast in a most pleasant balancing act. You taste alchohol but its only one character in a complex mingle. Palate is equally complex and marked by smooth and definite transitions. Mild tang and tingle build to sour character while the mouth becomes increasingly silkly. After goin thro a dry phase there is a sweet whisper of a finish, slightly sticky mouth, like you just ate a nectarine.

A bite of Teleme is washed away with a swig of Chimay and pure bliss washes the body. Sour cheese matches perfectly the sour character and mouthwatering palate of chimay blue. The Spice come through momentarily but the cheese returns. Both the cheese and the beer display a delicate evolution of flavor and palate effects, and they get along real well together. The pungent potency of Chimay is smoothed out by this high fat, creamy cheese. The beer clears the palate asking for more cheese, which melts in the mouth.

Beer chased by cheese accentuates sour cream/yogurt charcter of cheese. It can't tell you enough how well this complimentary matching is working for me, its zesty yeasty beer and sour tangy cheese.

Lagunitas Imperial Red ale with Tomales Bay Teleme

Im back in this Mah and its on like Donkey Kong Biznatch. Coming soon, Beer and chocolate/desert pairings!!

Yeah so this Teleme stuff is mild and very soft, a little more gooey than Brie. The flavor is faintly sour (think sour cream) with a tangy palate and a light floral/grassy character along side some pronounced nuttiness. It is light and finishes yeasty, it gives just a whisper of taste and then is gone. Good stuff, very different. Would be great with apples, sourdough and walnuts/almonds.

Based on feta and introduced by greek immigrants to america, this cheese was adopted by Italians and made into its current incarnation. Supposedly it can ripen more than the form I got it in, it is explained as having a pink rind with molds and yeasts.

The beer has a Metallic hop nose with sweet malts. Wet blanket, drying grass. Apricots and pumpkin. Big scotch flavor up front with carmel toasted malts. Pine/floral hops builds to crescendo leading to a sweeter fruity finish. Well crafted red ale, although I'm a bigger fan of lucky #13. http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/lagunitas-imperial-red/44450/69911/


Mild mannered cheese stands up surprisingly well to large hoppy goliath. It works on a complementary level, sour cheese with bitter hoppy ale. The beer pretty well washes the intricacies of the cheese away, but there is a creamyness remaining, evidence of high fat content which coats the tongue. Beer chased with cheese brings out sourness and mozzarella creamyness. A decent pairing but the Teleme demands a more sublte partner, Saison or pilsner perhaps.

fourme d'ambert and Old Rasputin

Damn its been awhile! Don't even have internet access so its hard to blog. Im moving from Seattle to San Lois Obispo CA soon so we'll see what they got as far as beer and cheese down there.



This French Blue (Fourme D'ambert) is the dank. It is mildly saltly and has a pungently musty earthiness. It has a wet blanket flavor which dosn't sound good but if your a blue fan u know what Im saying. It has a nearly fruity(apples, berries) sweet character.



I aged the Old Rasputin (an imperial stout) from North Coast Brewery for over a year and it is pretty impressive. It is super dark and has a burnt malt molasses flavor. The hoppiness that this brew had has mellowed, it is now a syrupy texture and is increbibly easy going. If guiness is a steak then this filet mignon.



The potency of this 9% brew and its burnt malt character means we need a ballsy cheese to stand up to it. The fourme d'ambert does this well, its peppery goodness coming throu the rich ale. The chocolate finish transitions perfectly into the creamy blue profile with the earthiness sneeking up on you. Chasing the cheese with the beer cleanses the palate but leaves a residual flavor that accentuates nuttiness. The beer seems mellow when it cuts through the acidity and heavy milk fat of the cheese. A splendid combo that should be easy for anyone.

Trader joes 2008 Vintage ale with Trader joes Goat Brie

I've been on hiatus due to poverty. Being a beer snob ain't easy, and beer/cheese pairings tend not to be cheap. Check out Ratebeer.com or Beeradvocate.com for more beer fanaticism

Beer is an Abbey Dubbel made for TJ's by Unibroue. It has sweet over-ripe fruit (Apricot, pear) with sour yeast and a little hops. Sourdough yeast and much spice (coriander, anise, clove, nutmeg). Slightly toasted malts (It is fairly dark) and sticky/tangy in the palate.

Cheese is buttery rich cream with a very mild bitter goat tang. Not really like chevre, more of a nutty roasted earthiness. A little more flavor and bite than cows milk, but still a mild creamy soft cheese.

Creaminess of cheese dulls spice and sour of beer. The nutty/salty flavor of cheese is brought out when beer is chased with cheese.

Not the best pairing, the beer overpowers. This cheese would do much better with a pilsner or an amber ale.