Featured Cheese - February 2019

Carr Valley Cheese has been making cheese in Wisconsin for over a century and they’ve become one of the finest specialty cheese manufacturers in the States. Mobay is their unique take on France's Morbier. A semi-firm cheese, Mobay is rustic yet mild, and comprised of two halves separated by a thin line of grape vine ash: a bright and tangy side of goat’s milk cheese, and a sweet and grassy side of sheep’s milk cheese which balances perfectly. Together they pair beautifully, offering an almost grape-like finish, but are also wonderful separate, which makes this cheese perfect for your cheese board due to the variety of flavor profiles.

This a raw milk cheese and the cows are entirely grass fed. São Jorge a slightly larger format cheese weighing in at 20-22 pounds per wheel, and the bright yellow paste is creamy with many little 'eyes'. The distinctive flavor profile is both tangy and vegetal/herbal. São Jorge is cheddary, with tangy, spicy undertones. It pairs very well with fruits and is a great snacking cheese. Milder in flavor, it will go nicely with lighter ales and lagers as well as dry red wines.

Cheesemaker Jeff Jirik describes his top-shelf blue as “complex, complicated yet delightfully intimate.” The paste and mouthfeel are super creamy. This cheese has a distinctive spicy piquant sharpness and tanginess and the presentation is nothing short of gorgeous with its abundant bluing. Overall, it’s a very approachable blue and not too overwhelming. St. Pete’s Select blue will pair well with strong ales like AleSmith’s Private Stock Ale or Deschutes Jubelale. It would also work well with your favorite tawny port.

We’ve elected to showcase the creamery’s longest-aged profile of Alpha Tolman this month. Eight to twelve months of aging gives it a bolder flavor profile and a crumblier texture. Its paste is creamy and the flavors complex, offering notes of carmelized onions, and toasted, earthy and sweetgrass notes, along with slightly sweet fruit notes. Overall, it’s a savory, nutty, slightly salty profile with a thick, creamy texture and mouthfeel.