“I am a curious character.” Declares Barrie Lynn, better known as The Cheese Impresario. “I really wish I could be ten people so I could explore more flavors and meet more great people.” The former Ad-Exec-turned-Cheese-Expert has found her passion educating the masses on the splendors of curdled milk. I’ve had the pleasure of nibbling, spooning and spreading her selections of cheese on various occasions from Blogger Prom 2009 to being guests together on The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis. So, when she announced an artisnal cheese and sake pairing, I couldn’t wait!
The event was held at Learn About Wine in a developing neighborhood in downtown LA. Bouncing over cracked asphalt on warehouse-lined streets, its not immediately apparent that just around the corner is a haven for the foodie and oenophile to enhance their gastronomic intelligence…. But isn’t that part of what makes visiting downtown LA an out-of-the-ordinary experience?
As 50 or so guests filed into the kitchen-cum-classroom and sat down at long communal tables, we were greeted with Banzai Bunny sparkling sake. A slightly effervescent, opaque, tickling treat for the senses, it proved a wonderful way to kick off the festivities. As we settled in, Barrie Lynn took center stage explaining how this unique event came to be.
“My friend Pauli Orchon brought K over to my rooftop with 20 sakes to participate in one of The Cheese Impresario’s Artisanal Cheese Pairing Laboratories. I literally screamed when one of the pairings hit the mark I knew this was a magical pairing and I wanted to share these flavors with others.” Barrie Lynn refers to a sake and cheese pairing as “Umami to the max!” because umami refers to the savory sense of taste. “Cheese is certainly savory,” explains Barrie Lynn. “The pairing of artisanal cheese with a sake takes each of their unique complexity and supercharges it. Sake’s savory components come forward when paired with the cheese. Sakes can handle very big cheeses.”
Keinosuke Inoue, otherwise known as “K” represents the Banzai Beverage Corporation. He shared that the best sake was only available in Japan for a long time, and that he finds joy in brining artisnal sake to wine drinkers throughout the world. For example, at one of this year’s Grammy parties, K served his Super 9 sake ($2000) to the heavy metal band Megadeath. “Everyone in Japan loves metal,” he explained, adding that Megadeath’s extensive touring there helped the band members develop a refined palate.
In order to help us work on our sake palates, K also taught a few basics:
- Sake is 80% water, so it is the integral ingrdient. For this reasion, sake breweries are nearly always found near springs. “Water determines the sake, not he rice,” says K.
- The “mash” or fermented rice liquid starts out at about 22% alcohol but is later blended with water by the sake maker to bring it down to 15-16%, for an average sake.
- The more refined a sake is, the more of the rice has been “polished” away. In other words, that $2000 Super 9 sake got its name because only 9% of the rice was used after polishing.
- You’re pretty much out of luck if you want to run off to become a sake maker. K told use that the secrets of the trade are passed down through generations.
Although this lecture was incredibly interesting, it was also making us curious to delve in! Barrie Lynn revved our engines for a ride down the “cheese highway,” the term she uses to describe her pairing tasting technique:
Step 1) Take a bite of cheese
Step 2) Take a sip of sake
Now, I admit that I actually pre-empted those steps with a little sip of the sake first. As a spirits / cocktail writer, I had to get a sense of each sake before I had cheese on my taste buds. However, it was fascinating to go back and forth tasting the cheese and the sake, then the sake and the cheese and experience the flavors of both dancing, playing and tumbling around on my tongue.
The sakes were lined up and we each had a plate of cheeses garnished with La Brea Bakery Artisan Bread and Valley Fig Growers Mission Figs in front of us. Working clockwise around our plates, here is what we tasted and the sakes with which they were paired:
1) Holland’s Family Farm – Thorp, Wisconsin, Cheesemaker - Marieke Penterman
Raw Milk Foenegreek Gouda – Cow
Handmade farmstead Gouda made from Marieke’s traditional Dutch recipe with their family farm’s fresh raw cow’s milk. Aged on Dutch pine planks four to six months to develop a creamy, nutty flavor. Aging makes Holland's Family Farm Goudas very different from most American Gouda-style cheeses, which are usually sold very young. Marieke’s Foenegreek Gouda won best in class at the 2007 US Championship Cheese Contest.
Paired with Banzai’s – Seashore Pride (Tokubetsu Junmai – 16-17% - 45%) Big and fruity. Famous for toasts. Was served at the G8 Summit
2) Hook’s Cheese Company - Mineral Point, Wisconsin, Cheesemakers – Tony & Julie Hook
These cheesemakers make such small production cheeses that they have no employees. The former college sweethearts have made cheesemaking their life for more than 35 years. They spent months refurbishing an abandoned facility built in the 1850s that was once a livery stable and a blacksmith's shop before being converted to a cheese plant in 1929. Built into the side of a hill, the building came with ideal cave-like conditions for aging cheese. Their awards are numerous and Julie Hook was, and still is, the only woman to win the World Cheese Championship. Slow Food honored the Hook’s by making them delegates to the Terra Madre event in Italy.
Hook’s 4-Year Cheddar – Cow
In the stores these days, aged Cheddar is available in 6 months, 1-Year and sometimes 2-Years. Tony and Julie expertly age their Cheddar 4-Years for a sharp but smooth as silk flavor.
Paired with Banzai’s - Palace Snow “Pure” (Junmai Shu – 14-15% - 40%) Hard and crisp.
3) Carr Valley Cheese Company – LaValle, Wisconsin, Master Cheesemaker – Sid Cook
Referred to as ”The Jimi Hendrix of Cheese,” Sid is a rock star in the world of artisanal cheese. The most awarded cheesemaker on the planet, he is the fourth generation rockin' the amazing milk and terroir from the green rolling hills and glacier action in his pristine part of the world. At the 2008 25th Annual American Cheese Society Conference & Competition, Sid won 16 ribbons and an unprecedented two Best of Show Awards. The crowd went wild!
Airco – Cow, Sheep, Goat
A hickory-smoked cheese made from cow, goat and sheep’s milk. It’s a brown-rind cheese with a gentle smoked flavor that perfectly balances the sweetness of the cheese.
Paired with Banzai’s – Best in the East (Junmai Ginjo – 16-17% - 51%) Elegant, fruity with a long finish.
4) Roelli Cheese Haus– Shullsburg, Wisconsin, Cheesemaker – Chris Roelli
Dunbarton Blue - Cow
The Roelli family came to Wisconsin from Switzerland the 1920’s and have been making delicious cheeses ever since. Dunbarton Blue is what’s called a Cheddar-Blue cheese that delivers an earthy flavor with a nutty sweetfinish.
Paired with Banzai’s – Euphoria (Junmai Ginjo – 16-17% - 45%) Well balanced and fruity
5) Widmer’s Cheese Cellars – Theresa, Wisconsin, Master Cheesemaker - Joe Widmer
Third generation cheesemaker, Joe Widmer, is one of only 44 Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers who have passed the state’s rigorous standards…much like a Master Sommelier or Master Chef program.
Aged Brick Spread – Cow
Made from a blend of Joe’s Aged Brick and his Cheddar, this delectable spread slathered on artisan bread is Heaven, and lovingly referred to by Barrie Lynn as "Cheese Sex" with good reason!
Paired with Banzai’s –Euphoria (Junmai Ginjo – 16-17% - 45%) Well balanced and fruity
6) Hook’s 10-Year Cheddar - Cow
Chefs are wild about this majesty of a Cheddar. This super-aged cheese has a deep, rich, outrageously sharp cheddar taste with tiny sparks of flavor crystals and a long elegant finish. It's a testament to the skill and experience of Tony and Julie Hook that a cheese aged this long still retains a smooth, sensual creaminess rare in a cheese half its age. This cheese won first place in its class at the 2006 American Cheese Society Competition.
Paired with Banzai’s – Juiced: Plum Nectar Sake (Plum Sake – 12% - 21% freshly squeezed plum nectar)
Want to try this at home? Barrie Lynn shares 2 Cheeses to nibble alongside sake and some serving tips:
- Aged Wisconsin Cheddar - Notice the flavors of both the cheese and the Cheddar changing as you enjoy each bite and each sip. Some nuttiness and sweetness will emerge in the cheese.
- A mild and creamy blue cheese – the mold in the cheese works well with the rice mold in the sake.
- 1 ounce of cheese per person, per cheese.
To eat or not to eat (the rind on a cheese): Barrie Lynn says that if its made of wax or paper, then obviously, don’t eat it. However, when it comes to the white stuff on brie or the brown stuff on smoked gouda, for example, she suggests taking a taste of the cheese inside the rind, and then having a little on the rind as it can add something to the taste.
Would you like to sign up for the next cheese tasting extravaganza? Do it at The Cheese Impresario website. And don’t say I didn’t warn you. Speeding down the cheese highway can be an addictive rush.