A Belgian Strong Dark Ale and blue cheese is one of the true textbook food pairings. Blue cheese delivers a very bold flavor and requires a large beer to match it. The cheese tends to coat the roof of your mouth and be very full flavored. This means that one bite of cheese takes a few sips to wash away, so the pairing itself endures.
If you ask the brewmaster of Gulden Draak, Jef Versele what his favorite beer and cheese pairing is, he will always suggest blue cheese with Gulden Draak. However, this pairing goes beyond the logical virtues. The Van Steenberge yeast strain coupled with the use of caramel in the late stages of re-fermentation creates a subtle cherry note that explodes when paired with blue cheese. If you have ever had a cheese board that includes macerated cherries…well there you go!
Gulden Draak’s trademark silky mouthfeel also melds perfectly with creamier cheeses. Below is a list of our favorite blue cheeses to pair with Gulden Draak:
Gelmini Gorgonzola Dolce (Italy/Cow)- With a refined texture this blue is a perfect balance of cream, salt and spice. The cheese is made with pure whole pasteurized milk and treated with blue-green mold. After it enters an aging room it is carefully turned and salted. Then the distinctive blue veins are created by perforating the body of the cheese in various locations with a needling technique.
Eiffel Tower Borgonzola (Brie/Blue cheese style- Canada/Cow) – Underneath its soft, fuzzy rind lies a rich and cream paste with just a hint of warm and cozy blue flavor. Made from the finest Ontario cow’s milk, Borgonzola is smooth and mellow.
St. Clemens Green Island Blue (Denmark/Cow) – Renowned Danish Creamery St. Clemens may be best known for their blue cheese. Yearning to emulate the French favorite Roquefort, the cheese hold a rich history on the island of Bornholm, east of Denmark, famous for its rich green pastures and picturesque shorelines. Made with pure cow’s milk, this creamer blue is streaked with blueish-green veins within a pale ivory-colored paste. The slightly moist, edible rind has a certain pungency which plays off the earthy tones of the cheese.
Papillon Roquefort (France/Sheep) – An award winning Roquefort from Auvergne region of France, Papillon has been producing their delicious cheeses for over 100 years. Meaning “butterfly” in French, this cheese will certainly send you taste buds fluttering! An all-natural ewe’s milk cheese, Papillon Black Label Roquefort is bright white in color, with a gorgeous amount of tasty blueish-green molding throughout the paste. Quite unctuous and supple, this cheese is wrapped in a dinstic black foil to distinguish it from other Roquefort cheeses.
