Goat’s Cheese & Beer Pairings

With warmer days, longer evenings and fantastic fresh produce, spring is the ultimate season for good food. This week we’re talking about goat’s cheese: a seasonal favourite and one of the most versatile ingredients when it comes to goat cheese beer pairing and springtime cheese pairing beers.

Why goat’s cheese & beer?

Goat’s cheese is intense, powerful and creamy. It fits well with a lot of different kinds of beer, like saison, Tripel or Blond, but also with a porter, geuze or Brettanomyces beer (Orval or Rebel Strop, for instance).

One of the best things about goat’s cheese is that it’s made from goat's milk, which contains less lactose than cow's milk. This means it’s easier to digest than cow cheese, and people with a lactose intolerance can often enjoy it, too. Goat’s cheese ripens very quickly; after a month it tastes like an old cheese made from cow's milk. It’s lower in fat, but certainly more intense in its taste. And, last but not least, goat’s cheese contains copper, which together with iron helps the immune system.

Thanks to its bold flavour and creamy texture, goat’s cheese works beautifully in goats milk beer pairings, especially with softer, aromatic beer styles that won’t overpower its natural tang.

Which beers should you drink with goat's cheese?

Choosing the right beer for goat’s cheese is all about balance, and a well-thought-out goat cheese beer pairing can elevate both the food and the beer. Cheeses tend to be creamy and intense, and often leave a greasy film in the mouth and on the tongue. The carbon dioxide from the beer rinses the mouth clean after a bite, and the alcohol cuts through the cheese fat. Each sip allows you to start afresh with the next piece of cheese.

Above all, goat’s cheese has a slightly sharp, tangy character, which makes it ideal for softer styles in classic cheese pairing beers such as saisons, blond ales and tripels. So when selecting an accompaniment, go for softer, sweeter or sour beers, which many spring beers naturally are.