Beer and Local Cheese Pairing at Formaggio Kitchen

Beer and cheese are two of my favorite things. While I've eaten the two together before, I've never stopped to contemplate how they can complement one another. Thankfully, Formaggio Kitchen did the work for me last week at their Beer & Local Cheese Pairing with Smuttynose Brewing Co.

I attended this event as a part of my partnership with Eventbrite, and I have to say - despite a few unorganized details (i.e. no pens for note-taking) - this was one of the most informative pairings I've ever been to.

The pairing was led by Formaggio's domestic cheese buyer, Sarah, as well as Smuttynose's head brewer (he's been their head brewer since 2001). The event was held at Formaggio Kitchen's Classroom Annex, and the classroom setting provided an ideal atmosphere for enjoying six flights of beer with six different kinds of cheeses. Here is the line-up of what we tried:

Flight #1: Opus 42 (cow's milk) from Rockport, ME with Vunderbar Pilsner (Czech-style pilsner)

Flight #2: Cabot (cow's milk) from Greensboro, VT with Finest Kind IPA (American IPA)

Flight #3: Reading (cow's milk) from Reading, VT with Wheat Wine Ale (hybrid beer)

Flight #4: Coupole (goat's milk) from Vermont with Bloom (Belgium-style pale ale)

Flight #5: Bayley Hazen (cow's milk) from Greensboro, VT with Gravitation (quadrupel)

Flight #6: Boston Post Dairy Tres Bonne (goat's milk) from Enosburg Falls, VT with Robust Porter (American porter)

Although I thought all of the pairings worked, my favorite of the evening was #4. Smuttynose's Bloom is a beer they brewed with the chef from Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, N.H. The head brewer and the chef actually went out and foraged flowers in order to make this brew. The beer had a wonderful, almost earthy smell and flavor, and it paired beautifully with the tangy goat's milk cheese.

All in all, this was a really fun and informative event. I highly recommend attending a Formaggio Kitchen class - especially if you're a cheese fiend like me.

Have you been to any fun food events lately?

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite Boston. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It's also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests - from photography workshops and wine classes to food festival and industry conferences, there's an event on Eventbrite for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in Beantown by following Eventbrite Boston on Twitter or liking them on Facebook! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started.

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