Spring Brook Farm Tarentaise

We've kidnapped cheesemaker Jeremy Stephenson for the day. At the ACS conference last month Tarentaise, made on Spring Brook Farm won first place in the farmstead cheese category and third place in the all-around Best of Show competition. For your tasting pleasure, we've kidnapped cheesemaker Jeremy Stephenson for the day. Starting at noon today you can stop by the shops, meet Jeremy, taste his cheese, and pepper him with as may questions as you can imagine.

Lake St. from 12-1:30
French Market from 4-5:30
Broadway from 6:30-8

Shockingly, the Tarentaise is our cheese of the week. Tarentaise is a washed rind, semi-hard, raw milk, cooked curd, farmstead cheese. What's farmstead cheese? It means that the cheese is made on the same land where the animals are raised. Having the cows and the cheese at the same location allows the cheesemaker and the herdsperson to work closely together in producing a truly unique and distinctive artisinal cheese.

Nutty, grassy and slightly sweet with a nice buttery mouth feel this cheese is one of two Vermont farms making Tarentaise. Spring Brook Farm isn't just about making delicious cheese, they're also giving back to the community as a part of the Farms for City Kids charity. This program takes city kids and their teachers and gives them an educational week on the farm. The kids learn how to apply their school work to life outside of the classroom and they get a great education in where food comes from. They help take care of the animals, help turn cheese, garden and have a fantastic learning experience in the process. We are very excited and proud to help support this great organization.

Xian suggests the Ommegang Tripel Perfection to sip alongside this fantastic cheese. In it's traditional style, tripels are fruity, malty beers with well-hidden warming alcohol notes. It's kind of conjecture, but the story goes that these beers are called "tripels" because the monks brewing the beer indicated the high alcohol level (8-10%) by marking "XXX" on the jugs.

The makers at Brewery Ommegang in upstate New York took three years to formulate the "perfect" recipe in the style of a traditional tripel, but with a touch of spice here and there to add complexity. the Tripel has notes of vanilla bean, tropical fruit, banana bread and just a hint of bubblegum. This is a one-time-only beer, and they only brewed 2,000 cases total. Although very tasty now, this beer can be aged for two or three years.

This is a great example of a truly harmonious pairing. The cheese serves to emphasize the sweet, yeasty nature of the beer, and the naturally produced bubbles in the beer soften the mouth feel of the cheese, creating a wonderfully buttery flavor and texture.

Cheese, Beer and Events! Oh, My!

So, what are you doing this coming Tuesday, April 20? I guess it all depends on which store you visit.

We're kicking off our lunch hour at Lake St. with a demo starring Andy from Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin. Trivia time: Pleasant Ridge Reserve is the only cheese to have twice won the "Best of Show" award from the ACS
Andy Hatch will be stopping by to demo Pleasant Ridge Reserve and to answer any questions you may have about seasonality, the cheese making process, or their commitment to the land and the animals that are raised there.

Starting at 5:30pm at our French market location Leslie Cooperband from Prairie Fruits Farm will be sampling some of her tasty farmstead goat cheeses. Fresh chevre anyone?

But what are you going to do in the evening say around 7:30? Our suggestion is the Craft Beer, Charcuterie & Cheese class taught by Xian at our Broadway locale. Xian is not only the assistant manager of the Broadway store, but has recently taken on the task of creating a fantastic beer program for all three of our locations. It's true, beer pairs better with cheese than wine does. Come to class and let Xian tell you why!

All of this happens next Tuesday, but what if you're hungry now? Our suggestion is French cheese and Belgian-style beer.

Saint Marcellin is our cheese suggestion this week. This French cheese is made in the Rhone Alps and has an earthy and mushroomy flavor (think truffles). Creamy, silky smooth and milky this little disk of fromage is absolutely delicious and has a tang and slight flavor of fresh baked bread.

What to pair with this truffle, earthy, yeasty silky smooth disk of cheese? Xian says that beer is the answer. Specifically the Rare Vos from Ommegang brewery in upstate NY. This Belgian-style beer has a little bit of spice to it with along with strong orange, caramel and biscuit aromas. This fruity, yeasty dry beer has a fantastic balance of bitterness, acidity and minerality and is just a perfect complement to the Saint Marcellin.