The art of pairing beer and cheese

There are no certainties when it comes to pairing beer and cheese.
In our country, there are so many beer brands and types of cheese that 100,000 different pairings are possible. This calculation does not count the numerous variables that can influence our sense perceptions: food temperature, order of consumption, time of day, product age, season, newly developed flavours … without forgetting individual preferences.

Each person’s degree of perception is different. Some of us are more sensitive to sweet flavours than others. For example, people who drink their coffee without sugar will more easily detect sweet tastes in all the food they eat. The same goes for acidic, salty, bitter and spicy flavours.

Tasting is thus not a science but an art forever dependent on our senses. An intense negative reaction to an acrid taste by one person can be perceived as the perfect combination by someone else fond of such a palate. I cannot say the number of times I’ve seen amateurs write: “Wow! It’s bitter, but great!" while their neighbour writes, "Well, it’s bitter and not very good."

A successful beer-cheese pairing depends mainly on our approach. Our boundaries are defined only by curiosity and our taste for discovery. On my own path of discovery, I learned that the word smelly covers up a world teeming with subtle flavours. Among them were the first Lambic beers and washed-rind cheeses to grace my taste buds. I strongly suspect the smells are deliberately added to certain cheeses to make them palatable for real connoisseurs.

Happiness is not the goal, but the journey!
Finding the perfect combination is a great achievement but we must remember that the road we take to get there is the main source of our enjoyment. In order to fairly judge taste pairings, the mind set to adopt is not to determine whether we like the particular beer and cheese pairing but to experience the nature of the flavours and mixes that are evolving in our mouths.

Our mouth is the breeding ground for many pairings from which many relationships can be born. A marriage can be composed of more or less successful flirting. The longer a relationship lasts, the more steps it takes and the more changes it undergoes. Sweet perfection can sour while matches made in hell can sometimes become heaven. Let’s not forget uncertain results that come apart or fall short. An unlikely match can create a surprise just as a perfect match can leave us wanting more.

The quality of a marriage depends partially on our own capacity to notice all the elements that come into play during the union.

How to taste

Pairings are mainly based on flavours, not smells. It is important to make the distinction between these two senses. A smell is exclusively volatile and can be perceived during different phases of the tasting (before, during and after – by the retro-nasal olfaction process). The sense of taste is a much more tactile perception and more easily interpreted by the taste buds located on the tongue as well as throughout the mouth. Pairings are a physical process and do not take into account the aroma left behind by the smells.

Rather than serve food cold, it is best to let it warm somewhat or even to bring it to room temperature. The most important non-subjective factor at play in beer and cheese pairings is the temperature at which the products are served. The closer both temperatures are, the more harmonious the results will be. On the other hand, the colder one element is relative to the other, the more obstacles litter the path to bliss. Cold amplifies bitterness and acidity, two flavours that can easily become acrid and sour. Some such pairings can revive once the elements combined in the glass have had time to warm to each other during the tasting.

Serving order
When it comes to pairing, with the exception of blue cheeses that have a pronounced salty Roquefort taste, the order in which cheeses and beer are served is secondary. The traditional order all gastronomic events follow starts with lighter tastes, building to a crescendo of stronger and stronger flavours. This principle relies on the saturation of the taste buds that gradually get used to the intensity of flavours and thus need stronger stimulation to perceive newer flavours.

Some light beers make excellent companions for strong cheeses, as do some strong beers for light cheeses. Anything is possible if we just give our imagination free reign. Any tasting experience centered around one specific cheese will undoubtedly leave us wanting more.

Taste buds reborn
How can we wipe our taste buds clean of residual flavours in order to ensure that our next tasting will not be tainted? There are many ways that can be used individually or together for more effective results: water, white bread or apples.

The best way to cleanse our taste buds and erase all traces of flavour is by drinking water. Often, eating a slice of white bread will be effective enough to let the next merging of flavours be fully appreciated. An apple slice can also help eliminate residual flavours and refresh the mouth.

The art of pairing

The general rule when it comes to pairing beer and cheese revolves around two fundamentally contradictory principles: “opposites attract” and “birds of a feather flock together…” between these two, anything is possible! The opposite is also true. There are many factors at play in the establishment of a successful pairing. They are also often complex and permeated with flavour nuances. Factors that are portent of failure are much more precise: the development of a too-pronounced acerbic or acrid taste. Acridity is such a bitter taste that one has the unpleasant impression that the back of one’s tongue is being sanded.

Choosing a pairing of beer and cheese according to one’s type would be like choosing a life partner according to one’s astrological sign. It is impossible to establish fixed rules based on beer and cheese type. For example, we cannot determine that brie always goes well with lager. It would be false to claim that all brie and lager pairings are good. The many unique situations require knowing the characteristics of each element in order to be able to combine them at the right moment and temperature. In some instances, a single flavour nuance can be the turning point between a match made in heaven and one made in hell. It’s analogous to the tiffs that even perfect couple’s have occasionally.

The more we know a beer or cheese, the easier it is for us to identify its best pairings in different situations. Knowledge comes from experience. Maintain stability in your pairings by regularly inviting along particular brands of beer or cheese.

The younger the product, the easier it is to predict results and repeat them. The more they age, the more the range of results becomes unpredictable. Cheese is very sensitive to its environment; how it is stored, for example, (at the retailer and at the customer) can greatly effects its taste. Two wheels of the same cheese stored in different conditions can bring about disastrous pairings or great success stories.

Just because I like a product today doesn’t mean I will like it tomorrow. Products age considerably, as do tasters. The possibility of a perfect match is determined by the compatibility between characteristics that are at their peeks at a particular moment. A fault inherent in one component can serve as the building block for a breathtaking pairing. For example, Meaux Brie ages particularly quickly and releases ammoniac, which creates an irresistible pairing with certain beers.

At the same time, our sensory functions constantly evolve, on a permanent basis as well as at different moments of the day, and are particularly affected by our prior meals.

Preferably eat the cheese before drinking the beer
Cheese has a solid texture that fills the mouth by coating the tongue and palate. The creamy texture traps flavours and releases them more or less rapidly. Since beer is liquid, its presence is short-lived. It also washes down the residual humidity of the cheese. It is at this precise moment that the adventure begins. Take a bite of cheese, chew it thoroughly, and swallow. Then take one or two small sips of beer. Be attentive to the evolution of the flavours until they have completely disappeared. This can last for many seconds! It is also important to remember that the taste of the cheese is momentarily drowned out by the arrival of the beer in the mouth.

Must we then mix the cheese with the beer simultaneously? The answer is in your mouth. Mixing the two elements in your mouth will create a flavour mix similar to that of eating first and drinking after. It is a simple matter of individual preference.
It is important to mention that the fat in cheese is the main enemy of beer froth. If your lips hold traces of the delicious cheese, the film left on the glass will automatically make the froth dissipate at the next sip.

Irresistible mildness
Milder cheeses and lighter beers make for the most successful pairings. This is due to the creaminess of the cheese and the sweeter taste of the beer.

Sugar is an extraordinary blender of flavours that enhances the pleasant taste of most food. However, when a sweat beer meets a sweat cheese, the sweat tastes cancel each other out and let you enjoy all the other flavours at work. You must then pay attention to the amplified flavours of the fundamental characteristics in rinds and veins of Roquefort-style cheeses.

Alcohol is nothing more than a by-product of sugar. It can even be considered as the soul of sugar. Thus, the higher the alcohol content in a beer, the easier it is to pair.

Subtleties of acidity
Acidity has powerful thirst-quenching properties and its fundamental characteristic is its sharp taste on the tongue. Acidity is present in certain types of beer and cheese. The fundamental nature of this flavour varies according to the type of beer or cheese. In general, pairings between “sour tasting” beers and cheeses produce pleasant results. We must, however, remember that pairings of such nature are particularly uncertain and can occasionally and unexpectedly produce unpleasant flavours.

Bitterness
Of all the participants at the feast, the bitterness of hops and aged soft surface-ripened cheese are the most resistant to pairing.

The higher the hop content in beer, the harder it is to pair. Serving it at a higher temperature will help eliminate the taste of hops. Similarly, the older a soft surface-ripened cheese, the harder it is to pair. The rind fungus, with its more pronounced acridity, is an unlikely match for a large number of beers.

Bitterness, however, is easily balanced out by mild or sweet flavours. It’s a perfect opportunity to test the “opposites attract” theory. If you opt for similar flavours, the taste of bitterness can be increased tenfold in your mouth.

Bitterness and sourness can be paired only with difficultly. A sour beer is not meant to be sampled with a bitter cheese, nor vice versa.

Primary domination
Better to pair a strong beer with a light cheese than a light beer with a strong cheese.

The more a cheese dominates a beer, the more easily the beer taste fades and disappears. Creating a pairing is thus virtually impossible. Pleasure can only be gleaned on a one-dimensional level, from the cheese. On the other hand, if we mix a strong beer with a light cheese, the taste of the cheese is rarely overpowered. There will always be some creaminess left to coat our mouths and be enjoyed.

Attractiveness of similarity
The more similar the players, the finer the nuances that can tip the scale one way or the other. In this type of relationship, the exterior conditions, like the temperature and age of the products, greatly influence the result. This experience is centered on nuances and is the breeding ground of diversity.

Great personalities
The more complex the personalities of the products, the more the results are unpredictable and change from one tasting to the other.
The beer and cheese “grand cru” offer such exceptional complexity and finesse that they surpass others by a bite (or sip). They have so much to offer: rich aromas, textures and flavours as well as a range of tastes, etc. They generally bring about aristocratic pairings that are mostly pleasurable and can vary greatly from one meeting to the next. These lovers can make us take part in an orgasmic experience. Once again, the nature of their relationship is vulnerable to exterior factors: temperature, age, etc.

Other flavours present
The presence of exogenous elements, like herbs, spices, nuts, mushrooms and of course bread, make cheese pairings easier.

The involvement of a third party can change the relationship, as is proven by the variety of cheeses available. Goat cheese is an excellent example. Infused with pepper and herb flavours, it can be paired with more types of beer.
The presence of pepper or herbs creates a pleasant distraction and makes pairing simpler. In other words, we can also create such occasions by adding spices to our cheeses before tastings.

Serving cheeses with bread, crackers or any other support transforms the beer-cheese relationship while helping it along. We all know that bread is basically solid beer. It thus has a tailor-made role in the process. The classic French baguette is a forerunner in this domain because it is effective while being aristocratically discreet. Its presence eases the melding by appeasing antagonisms. We must still bear in mind that bread nourishes and is an additional source of calories.

Many kinds of bread can serve as pairing facilitators. Nut bread is an exquisite choice because the nuts create a link with the cream in the cheese. Crackers do the same, especially those with spices or herbs.

Exception to the rule
Just like in life, exceptions prove ambiguous rules. Couples don’t stay on a perfect path and are sometimes subject to exterior forces that threaten the quality of their relationships. Due to the many variables that characterize the universe of pairings, certain associations can seem ordinary or even poor from one day to the next, although they are usually exceptional. And vice versa! We must refrain from passing judgment on the wedding night. We must also be patient and lenient. Keeping an open mind is essential because there are so many exceptions confirming rules that they often become rules themselves.

Evaluation

Some beers have the knack for enhancing the fundamental nature of some cheeses. Others know how to highlight its unexpected mildness. Which is the best match? In the first case, if you are a fan of a specific cheese, the match will be extraordinary and the pairing will earn five stars! On the other hand, if you are reticent to taste a certain cheese, you will undoubtedly view the result as disastrous. The development of the inherent characteristics of each food is the sure sign of a successful pairing but it does not mean that the taste will be pleasant to you. Imagine a bitter beer whose bitterness is enhanced fivefold by a cheese whose own acridity undergoes the same process, both acting like impish children at play.

There are two types of evaluations: descriptive and rated. When doing a descriptive evaluation, you experience with your senses the evolution of the pairing in your nose, mouth and throat. Then you describe as best you can your perception of the many flavours at play. You listen to what the pair is saying. It is difficult because it goes against our reflex of spontaneously passing a categorical judgement on whether it’s good or not. We must forget this reflex that is deeply rooted in our value system.

As for the rated evaluation, it is a rating of the pleasure or displeasure gleaned from the pairing. The match might be perfect but can generate acute displeasure. We must thus discern the difference between these two judgements: a beer can be the perfect companion for a certain cheese and still engender bad sensations: just think of neighbours who hate each other but nevertheless get on well.

Our capacity to judge evolves on many levels. The more we acquire experience, easier it is for us to identify the elements of taste and quantify our satisfaction. As we educate our taste buds, our capacity to perceive nuances in flavour grows and, as a result, we are able to give a more accurate rating.

Our evolution continues during the tasting: the order of the pairings, tiredness (we give our taste buds a break), rising temperature, the tendency to return to a perfect match, the smells, our friends, the lighting, the décor, the quality of the service and more. But let’s not forget the exhilaration of the soul brought on by the atmosphere and our senses, both enhancing our appreciation of the different pairings.