Beer is the New Wine: Try Gouda Cheese and Ale

If you are a wine and cheese believer, I have bad news for you. Instead of taking wine as the instinctive cheese pairing beverage of choice, beer is becoming the ideal cheese partner.

Say one day you came home and bought some beer, and decided to hop in the beer and cheese bandwagon. Looking at your beer, you want to find the best cheese that you can pair it with. You have two options for this scenario: first, you can go and specifically choose the right type of cheese for the right kind of beer. Or, you can simply buy a few “safe” cheeses that are generally friendly to all types of beer. If you do not have the patience to get caught up in details, then perhaps option number two is for you. And of course… highly recommended to go with any beer is Gouda Cheese.

Just like balloon skirts, politics, and diets, a number of cheeses go in and out of fashion. Including the popular Gouda cheese from Holland that has faded in popularity over the years. Critiques find this cheese bland, having a texture intended for babies, and coming with no character at all. But before you look down on this sweet and tasty little cheese, Gouda cheese has more than what meets the tongue.

Gouda cheeses are milder cheeses with a smooth and buttery texture. But depending on its age, not all Goudas are the same. You see, the shorter time the cheese is ripened, the softer and the creamier the cheese will be. Some purists who turn up their noses at young Goudas have far greater respect for the more mature relatives of the clan. Just like other more aged cheeses, aged Gouda tends to be harder in texture than young Gouda, almost the same texture as Parmigiano Reggiano. Its complex flavor tastes somewhere between an intense butterscotch caramel, salty but learning on the sweeter side. In general, Gouda cheese is described as having a caramelized, toffee-like taste.

This rare combination of sweetness makes Gouda the best pair for any beer. Actually, beer is the most ideal complement for cheese in several cultures across the globe. Beer is actually the best complement for cheese in a number of cultures in the world. This is expected because cheese and beer practically grew up together in the farm the grain used to make beer is often the same grain that is given to milk-animals that produce cheese. Aside from that, the flavors of beer and cheese that earthly, yeasty, musty, fruity, rich, and floral taste coincides in such a way that wine and cheese cannot.

Gouda cheese is known for its salty-sweet, nutty, and sharp taste. What better way to wash down this flavorful cheese than with a refreshing swig of beer? Invite your friends over and pair your beer with Gouda cheese today!

So go ahead and find Gouda cheese at your nearest cheese store.