Tasting Seminar: American Beer and Cheese Pairing
When most people think about what to pair with cheese their mind usually jumps to wine. Yet beer has an amazing ability to pair with cheese just the same! And now that both American craft beer and artisanal cheese are thriving, there are so many fabulous, stateside options available and able to provide matches made in heaven! In this tasting seminar, Eric Miller will lead us on an exploration of what makes beer such a perfect pairing pal for cheese; we'll taste our way around the country through some of America's best producers.
PAIRINGS
Sofia (g) - Capriole Dairy, Greenville, IN
Seizoen Bretta - Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Hood River, OR
Queso de Mano - Haystack Mountain, Longmont, CO
Cooperstown Ale - Ommegang Brewery, Cooperstown, NY
Friesago (s) - Shephers's Way, Nerstrand, MN
Westphalia - Fort Point Beer Co., San Francisco, CA
Bandage Cheddar (c) - Bleu Mont Dairy, Blue Mounds, WI
Detour Double IPA - Uinta Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, UT
Grayson (c) - Meadow Creek, Galax, VA
Triple - Allagash Brewing, Portland, ME
Buff Blue (wb) - Bleating Heart, Marshall, CA
Drakonic - Drake's Brewing, San Leandro, CA
Eric Miller is the director of the in-house charcuterie program and cheesemonger at Mission Cheese. After escaping his former cubicle life, he is now creating traditional charcuterie items with an American flair, along with pickles, and dessert items, and other delicious items as part of his new project, Maker’s Common. A native New Yorker, Eric has spent numerous hours helping educate the masses about the art of meats and cheeses at the legendary Murray’s Cheese. As an enthusiastic transplant to the west coast, he’s always excited about bringing his New York know-how to San Francisco’s fresh food scene.
For Eric, it all started in the Murray’s Cheese classroom as an intern, which was a welcome escape from the daily nine to five. After having spent many years managing an international sales team in New York’s photo industry, he knew it was time for a change, and cheese, charcuterie, wine, & beer were calling out to him. He traded sales calls for time in the kitchen slow food, business development for curating wine and cheese events building dynamic pairing events, and cubicles for home made charcuterie marketing for making hand made charcuterie. When he left New York City for San Francisco he vowed to never enter a cubicle again.
Today, he’s taking charcuterie even further. There’s nothing more sustainable to him than using every part of an animal to create something nourishing, delicious, and beautiful.
