jamie goode's wine blog: beer... and more cheese

Sunday, January 07, 2007

beer... and more cheese

Big lunch here chez Goode today, with a number of friends, including our chums who've just returned from a month in Aus. They bought with them a bottle of De Bortoli's Gulf Station Pinot Noir 2005 (Oddbins) from the Yarra, and it was really nice. De Bortoli rock at the moment - there are some great wines coming from their Yarra operation. I'm in the process of writing up my report on a visit there.

Two beers and two cheeses tonight. The cheeses were English: a Colston Bassett Stilton and Keen's Farmhouse Cheddar. Both were really lovely, with the deliciously rich, creamy Keen's winning first place in my affections. While the Colston is impressive, I'm still struggling a tiny bit with blue cheeses.

On the beer front, Sierra Navada Pale Ale really works for me. An orange/brown colour this has a complex fruity, spicy aroma with tangy citrus notes, and in the mouth it's hoppy and spicy with lovely balance. Brilliant, and widely available (Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Morrison’s, Co-Op, Booth’s). Another enjoyable beer in a similar style is the Proper Job IPA from the St Austell Brewery in Cornwall. This has a lovely citrus and honey nose with a warm malty note, and in the mouth the sweet, spicy fruit is backed up by nice hoppiness. It's a great food beer, and it's available from The Beer Club of Britain.

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4 Comments:

At 1:45 PM, Anonymous Luis Gutiérrez said...

Jamie, try to find Montgomery's cheddar. It's superb!

Cheers,

Luis

 
At 10:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jamie, If you and your friends would like another bottle of de Bortoli Gulf Station Pinot Noir then step on down to your local branch of Oddbins where you can avail yourself of a bottle for £8.99. I like it too - sweet ripe summer fruits with a satisfying savoury finish!
Cheers,
Di, Oddbins Manager

 
At 8:00 PM, Blogger Paul Tudor said...

A year ago I was very fortunate to be awarded a scholarship/trip to the Napa Valley along with a group of other MW and MW students.
On the plane over, the guy in the seat next to me sold me on the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which I drank quite a bit during the week that followed.

However following an especially good baseball match (the Giants beat the Dodgers in a late innings revival), I met a chap from Oregon in a fairly average bar/microbrewery and he told me about Boont Amber Ale from Anderson Valley Brewing.

I was surprised when I went to Chez Panisse that night and found it on tap, in one of America's finest restaurants.

I am no big fan of American beer, but this stuff is really good. Hopefully someone in the UK is importing it???

Cheers

Paul

 
At 7:27 PM, Blogger Jesse E said...

Jamie,
One particular school of thought is to try beer against washed rind cheeses as opposed to blue cheeses. Penicillium Roqueforti and Glaucum lend more of a vitamin c/ medicinal flavor (diacetylene). Try Epoisse, langres, and munster. These will pair well against any ale (within reason). Lagers would be more suited to a cheddar or pressed curd cheese. Barley wine pairs well against the cooked curd style cheeses (gruyere, vignerson.....)

 

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