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A cheese plate is a classic appetizer for white wine, but lately it has become more and more fashionable and popular to serve cheese with beer. Since this is a fairly modern trend, it is not yet possible to talk about strict requirements and strict recommendations. The rules for pairing beer with cheese depend largely on the personal preferences of beer sommeliers. However, there are a few key points to be noted.
Intensity
As in all other gastronomic combinations, it is necessary to ensure that the appetizer does not “clog” the aroma and taste of the drink. While beer stales and becomes more insipid over time, mature cheese, on the contrary, “sounds” sharper, sharper.
Light beers such as pale lager or wheat go well with fresh mozzarella or soft Chevre goat cheese. Stronger variations such as the Belgian quadrupel or imperial stout can be enjoyed with aged and savory varieties.
Combination of tastes
The best gastronomic couples are obtained when the taste of the snack emphasizes and helps to reveal the aroma of the drink.
Beers with a pronounced malt profile, such as German bock or dunkel, can be served with young Gruyere, and American brown ale with Manchego cheese. On the other hand, sweet seasonal beers pair well with mild, moldy cheeses like French Camembert or Irish Durrus.
Universal Pairs
- Stout and soft blue cheese.
- Belgian dubbel or triple and Swiss or German cheese.
- IPA and Cheddar.
How to eat beer with cheese
Despite all the above recommendations, beer sommeliers advise first of all to focus on your own taste and try to serve different types of cheese with the same beer in order to find the most successful combination.
It’s also important to remember that some beers don’t need to be snacked at all—for example, bourbon-aged stouts or barley wines, fruit lambics, gose, aged dubbles, and triplets. All these varieties have such a bright and complex bouquet that an appetizer will only get in the way of enjoying their taste.
You can refer to the table.
| Beer | Cheese | Comment |
| IPA, Imperial IPA | Cheddar, spicy spicy cheese, blue cheese | The sharpness of these cheeses sets off the pronounced hop profile of the IPA. |
| Belgian Dubbel or Triple (unaged) | Emmental or Gruyere | The yeasty flavor of the beer pairs well with the similar flavor profile of the cheese. |
| Wheat beer, Pilsner, Kölsch | Mozzarella, Chevre | Light beer harmonizes well with fresh soft fresh cheese. |
| Sweet Stout | Soft blue cheese | Cheese with a caramel flavor and a creamy texture is best suited. |
| Imperial Stout | Soft blue cheese | It is ideal to take a more seasoned spicy cheese. |
| Seasonal beer, farmhouse ale | Brie or Camembert | Both beer and cheese have earthy notes. |
| Barleywine, quadruple | pickled cheese | This cheese has an exceptionally strong flavor and goes well with strong beer. |
| Hi, Dunkel | Alpine semi-hard cheese, such as Comte | Both cheese and beer have nutty-caramel notes. |
Letting go of cheese
You can also go from the opposite direction: match not cheese with beer, but beer with cheese.
Pepper Jack. It is a sweet cream cheese with chili, herbs and other seasonings. Scottish ale is considered a good gastronomic pair for him.
Feta. This cheese can be washed down with wheat beer, best of all – Belgian (Blonde).
Goat cheese. Pilsner, American Pale Ale, Belgian Golden Ale, Triple, Seasonal Beer, Doppelbock.
Blue cheese, Gorgonzola. Imperial IPA, Barleywine, Triple, Quadrupel, Baltic Porter, Imperial Stout.
Gruyere. Scottish ale, amber ale, English bitter.
Parmesan. Wheat beer, British or American barleywine, Belgian gose or lambic, IPA.
Havarty. Sweet creamy buttery cheese. Pairs well with Berliner, Pilsner, IPA, dry stout.
Cheddar. British bitter, stout, porter, Irish red beer, brown or Scottish ale.
Manchego. Light lager, wheat beer, IPA, barleywine.
Brie and Camembert. Bohemian Pilsner, German Weissbier, IPA, Belgian Triple.