Cheese With Hoppy Beer

Pale ale or IPA (India Pale Ale) now comprise some vast majority of the craft beer being brewed in the U.S. Hallmark citrus flavors run the gamut from super-tart lemon to overripe grapefruit and many now have a piney, resinous quality that makes them the Mary Jane of beers.  Almost no sweet maltiness and a dry finish.

Pairing this with a cheese of near opposites, clothbound cheddar (types), does wondrous things. The dry saltiness of the cheese pushes forward the fruitiness of the beer and the cheese tastes that much sweeter (American producers) or more savory (English producers) for its drinking companion. Look for American: Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Milton Creamery’s Flory’s Truckle, Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, Beehive Promontory, Sprout Creek Toussaint or British: Montgomery’s Cheddar, Quicke’s Mature Cheddar, or Hafod.