QUICKES HARD GOAT’S CHEESE


Like James Montgomery and George Keen, Mary Quicke, based in Devon, is best known for her traditional cow’s milk cheddars. But Mary’s hard goats cheese, made the same way, is a smasher. Using local goats milk, it’s turned into 24kg truckles that are matured for 12 months. To eat, the cheese is firm, almost chewy, with a subtle goaty taste and an aromatic almondy tang. Cooks brilliantly too.


www.quickes.co.uk


Teignworthy Brewery Springtide -The chalky, ‘goaty’ flavor of this cheese is best matched with a traditional English bitter. The sweet malts of the beer compliment the cheese, and a long bitter finish adds depth to the pairing. 4.3%abv


PENNARD RIDGE


This semi-hard goats milk cheese takes its name from the ridge on which the Somerset Cheese Company dairy, where it’s hand made, sits. Similar to a Caerphilly, this is a light, refreshing cheese that’s pale cream in colour and has a slightly chalky texture without being dry. It’s good to eat at around six weeks. Also try the dairy’s cheddar-style Pendragon, made from buffalo milk. www.somersetcheese.co.uk


Arbor Ales Beech Blonde -Don’t want to over-power this one so have gone for a light, summery blonde ale. Arbor produce some cracking one off beers


but this is from their core range. Light in colour with delicate floral hop aromas, despite the delicate flavours it’s an extremely complex beer. 4.9% abv


DORSET BLUE VINNY 


For centuries this hard, slightly crumbly, cows’-milk blue cheese was made by every dairy farm in Dorset, using the milk left over after the cream had been used to make butter. But in the 1960s production dried up and the cheese nearly disappeared. Happily, in 1982 dairy farmer Mike Davies managed to unearth a recipe and started producing the cheese again near Sturminster Newton. Mike uses a combination of unpasteurised skimmed and full-fat milk to create a deliciously moist, rich, creamy cheese with long-lasting taste. www.dorsetblue.com


OGLESHIELD 


No West Country cheeseboard would be complete without a mature farmhouse cheddar made by king of cheddars Jamie Montgomery. This washed-rind cheese, that Jamie has been making for a decade, is less known, but equally superb. Like the cheddar, it uses the rich milk from his herd of Jersey cows. It’s washed with brine to achieve a slightly pungent moist rind which softens the cheese and gives it depth of flavour. The West Country equivalent of raclette, Ogleshield cooks and melts brilliantly. www.montgomerycheese.co.uk


Box Steam Brewery Derail Ale -Possibly the easiest cheese to pair. Nothing complements a mature cheddar like a big, powerful IPA. India pale ales are


hoppy, generally higher in alcohol with bold citrusy flavours that won’t be over-powered by a full flavoured Cheddar. Cheddar 5.2%abv


KEENS CHEDDAR


The Somerset farm belonging to George Keen and his family is one of only three West Country farms which still make cheddar the traditional way, using raw milk direct from their own cows and ‘cheddaring’ by hand. It’s matured for 10 to 18 months, resulting in a cheese with complex, long-lasting flavours and a lovely tangy bite. www.keenscheddar.co.uk


St Austell’s Smuglers Ale. This complex aged ale is a made in heaven match for this mature cheddar. A blend of aged ale and barley wine, hints of toffee, vanilla and spice as well as big alcoholic flavours perfectly compliment the big flavours in


this cheese. 6.0% abv


Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout -I’m going waaaay out there on this one! Instead of trying to balance up the flavours with their beer related opposites I think this one would be a great match for a milk stout. The sweet, dark and slightly nutty beer combines with the creamy, moist cheese to create a mouthful of deeply decadent flavours.


CURWORTHY


Based on a 17th-century recipe, this cow’s milk cheese is made by Rachel Stephens using milk from her herd of Holstein-Friesians near Okehampton. Matured for two to four months, it has a texture that’s dense and chewy, with a lovely buttery feel when young, maturing into a more tangy peppery flavour. A perfect cheeseboard cheese. www.curworthycheese.co.uk


Quantock Ales Stout -Going for a nice creamy stout with this one. The roasted malt bitterness, black current and liquorice flavours mary well with


the creaminess off the cheese. 4.5% abv


Sample some new cheeses during British Cheese Week 22nd-30th Sept, including the Great British Cheese Festival in Cardiff Castle 22nd-23rd Sept. See www.thecheeseweb.com for details


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