Review: Old Amsterdam - Cheese and beer matching : The Pickled Ginger

Some things in life are essential – coffee, tea and for me – cheese. Right now, we’ve got 8 different types stinking in the fridge. And I do mean stinking. I love a good smelly cheese.

So when I received an invite to a beer and cheese pairing, I couldn’t say no. I have form for these two together already.

Meeting the lovely people from Bradbury’s Cheese, we were taken through the perfect cheeseboard. If I’m honest, not something I usually give that much thought to, but there is an art to this it seems.

Your base should be a firm cheese – cheddar the standard option and the Keynes Farmhouse Cheddar supplied for our boards was lovely. Very mature, but still with a creaminess that stopped it being overpowering.

Secondly, a soft cheese – and a rich Brie de Meaux was placed on the boards, soft, squidgy and a bit smelly, guaranteed to make me happy.

Thirdly, a blue cheese; and a classic Stilton from Colston Bassett, creamy with that characteristic acidity that Stilton is known for, it was a cracker; more butteryr and less dry that the ones I’m used to.

Finally, a continental hard cheese and here’s where things got interesting. Old Amsterdam is a Gouda cheese, matured for 18 months and it was a little bit of a surprise. Unlike the slightly squidgy texture of Gouda, this was hard, with the crystalisation you’d expect from Parmesan The flavour was nutty, slightly fudgy and sweet – I was immediately drawn to macaroni cheese (which I’ve since tried with this cheese and some Bobby’s Bangers Welsh dragon sausages. Heavenly.).

The cheeses were matched with two beers; both offering differing characteristics to go match the cheese. The Keynes farmhouse cheddar was paired with Loweswater Gold from Cumbrian Legendary Ales. I worried this would be too much for the ale, but it was actually perfect; the beer kept the tropical fruit notes, and the slight bitterness worked well with the creaminess. The second option was Duvel Belgian beer a fantastic beer, but for me this completely overpowered the cheese – killing the flavour. The Loweswater won hands down.

Onto the brie and an absolute favourite of Mr GFB, Jaipur IPA. The lime and light grapefruit notes cut through the creamy ripe brie. The second was a firm favourite of mine, Lindemans Kriek cherry. Like cranberry sauce and brie, a great match – not too sweet, the sharpness of the beer working really nicely with the cheese.

With the Colston Bassett we moved to Flying Dog, Snake Dog IPA and interesting beer on it’s own, some would call it unbalanced as it’s a floral, slightly citrussy but bitter beer. However, with the Stilton, this was a good pairing. The bitterness bit through the richness of the cheese, the floral notes complimenting it. Then we were in porter territory – the Einstok Toasted Porter. I’ve been dying to have some Einstock and Iron storm was a deep, bitter, espresso like porter with hints of mocha and chocolate. Again the bitterness in this worked really well with the Stilton.

Finally with the Old Amsterdam we went with another of my favourites – Raging Bitch from Flying Dog – and not just because I like to ask for it at the bar. This fruity IPA, with hints of mango and pineapple, and citrus worked so well with the cheese – the citrus cut through it and the full texture worked fantastically. And secondly Wreckless from Red Willow. Again, the tropical fruits and citrus worked fantastically and it was a hardship to stop eating.