Photo by Jonas Jacobbsen on Unsplash
Blue Cheese Married a Craft Brew: The Result Is Blue Cheese Beer
December 18, 2023
It’s a marriage of one of the funkiest cheeses ever created and a craft beer blend. Oregon’s Crux Fermentation Project teamed up with local cheesemaker Rogue Creamery for a brew that pairs two things that taste great together — blue cheese and beer. A new limited edition ale is currently available, using the creamery’s world-champion blue cheese, Rogue River Blue.
Brewpublic shared a press release from the two companies regarding their pairing. “Two years ago, Crux Fermentation Project, a craft brewery in Bend, Oregon, approached the Southern Oregon artisan cheesemaker to invite it to take part in the 6th rendition of Crux’s ‘Coolship’ fermentation program. The brewers and cheesemakers devised a plan to brew a beer inoculated with Rogue Creamery’s famous Rogue River Blue cheese.”
KOIN spoke to Marguerite Merritt, the Cheese Emissary for Rogue Creamery, and Larry Sidor, the founder and master brewer for the Crux Fermentation Project, regarding the unusual duo. Merritt believes that this beer wins over even its harshest skeptics.
Sidor explained that when brewers learned of this pairing, no one thought it would work. However, the unusual combination works because the cheese flavor in the beer isn’t that strong.
Sidor ferments the beer in a portable and shallow tank they call the Coolship. The Crux team drove the CoolshipIt to Rogue Creamery and added blue cheese to it and let it sit overnight. The mixture then returned to the brewery where it aged in oak barrels for nearly two years.
Merritt admits that consumers will not pick up on the blue cheese flavor right off the bat. She said that while sipping, a slight hint of blue cheese comes in on the finish. This way, the mix is not overpowering to someone who may not like the distinctively funky taste on its own.
On its website, Crux describes itself as a brewer-owned and -operated community committed to brewing perfection and fermentative experimentation of the highest quality. Its blue cheese blend will be available both on tap and in 750-ml bottles while supplies last.
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