Gouda & Stout to Shout About
- Georgina Donatantonio
- Jun 15, 2020
- 2 min read
My Cheesy Pairing: Stout & Gouda
Stout; a historical beer with a tumultuous past. Gouda; an irrepressible cheese with a marked history. Both scorned and adored. And two characters too tempting to leave unpaired.
‘Elbow Patches’ Oatmeal Stout (The Virginia Beer Co.) 6.2%
At 6.2%, this beer is viscous. It pours like a powerful espresso and leaves a hearty and healthy head.
Elbow Patches had significant aromas of coffee, along with characteristic chocolate, and an increasingly noticeable plummy smell. Once sipped, everything amalgamated so beautifully. Flavours were distinct, yet perfectly co-existing.
My Perfect Pairing:
Old Winchester (Lyburn Farm)
A 3-way hybrid, born of the Gouda, the Cheddar, and the Parmesan. With an irresistible crystalline crunch, eye-opening sharpness, and caramel honeyed notes, it is a cheese favoured by both the savoury- and the sweet-tooths.
When my perfect pairing came together, everything was amplified. Elbow Patches somehow became even smoother. Sweetness was intensified, and any hint of bitterness was lost. A marriage made in heaven if ever there was one.
‘Dark Side’ (Bath Ales) 4%
Whiffs of chocolate and plum successfully transferred to taste, in a smooth, un-bitter, refreshing, and slightly malty experience. At only 4%, it wasn’t at risk of overpowering either human, or my perfect pairing partner.
My Perfect Pairing:
Wyfe of Bath (Bath Soft Cheese Co.)
It seemed only fitting that Bath Ales should encounter the understated, delicate gouda-style from Somerset’s Bath Soft Cheese Co.
A smooth and creamy texture with flowery notes, traces of butter and honey, and dare I say it, condensed milk.
When paired with Dark Side, no flavours were lost (in either), but the stout took on a somewhat richer texture, and sweetness was enhanced.
A reminder that subtlety can be ingenious and exquisite.
‘The Illustrious Mr Smith’ Imperial Stout (Attic Brew Co.) 9.5%
At a lethal strength of 9.5%, this is both a name, and brew, worthy of a Poirot novel.
The Illustrious Mr Smith proved a decadent delight. A self-assured and fearless imperial stout. The sleek and silky texture enveloped my mouth; notes of coffee, dark chocolate, and raisin so severe, that I was near-convinced a chocolate fondant was the order of the day.
My Perfect Pairing:
Reypenaer VSOP 2 Year Aged Gouda
Impenetrable with a wire, and THE cheese that made me re-think Gouda. Bendy, rubbery, tasteless? This was quite the antithesis; rock solid, an incredible crunch, with shocking sharpness, meatiness, and beautiful depth of flavour.
Paired with The Illustrious Mr Smith, my world temporarily ignited. It was like having my dessert, cheese board, and breakfast all in one. The cheese’s intensity & saltiness counteracted with the luxuriant sweetness of the stout, and each character became superbly balanced.
Fear he who does not know his own strength. Perhaps that is what makes the Gouda & Stout a partnership most perilous.
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