Belgian Beer and Gourmet Cheese Pairings

In Wisconsin, we love our beer, but we also love our cheese.
Yesterday, me and fellow blogger, Katie, from Haute Apple Pie went to the "Belgian Beer Session" at Sugar Maple. Here are the beer and cheese pairings that they gave us during the lecture and tasting. I loved how well the flavors of the beers matched and complimented each cheese. This would great for a small get together, appetizers, or maybe for when the dudes are over for football. It's hard to convince them not to order pizza or wings, but this might pass.



(Top to Bottom)
1. Domaine Du Page French Style Country Ale from Two Brothers Brewing Co. + Edam cheese
2. Hennepin Farmhouse Saison from Ommegang Brewery + Asiago cheese
3. Stone Cali-Belgique from Stone Brewing Co. + Gorgonzola cheese
4. Matilda Strong Belgian Pale Ale from Goose Island Brewery + Pesto Havarti cheese
5. Chimay Rouge from Bieres de Chimay + Cherry Cheddar cheese

Decorating: Home is where the bar is

Photos (top to bottom): Nina Gottlieb, apartment therapy, pottery barn, glenn dundas on flickr, apartment therapy, tori mellott

P.S. Beer week is almost over, sign up for the giveaway by Tuesday.

Weekend: Homebrewing

Matt just finished the bottling process for his amber ale homebrew. Now it waits bottled in our basement until it's finished. Homebrewing takes a good initial investment for all the supplies and equipment but after that, you're ready to brew. And with stores like Northern Brewer in the area, it's easy to experiment with everything from ales to meads. Yes, we like our beer in Wisconsin--so much that we'll make our own.

Want to learn more about brewing? Start off with the Lakefront, Sprecher, or Miller brewery tours for the basics of brewing. Then take a brewing class with the Beer Barons of Milwaukee, a local homebrew club. Trust me, it can get as complex and as extreme as you want (like Discovery World's class on recreating an ancient Turkish beer recipe), but that's half the fun. After all, you're basically doing one big chemistry and physics project. So grab a lab partner and let's drink!



Northern Brewer (1306 S. 108th St.) is on south Hwy 100 in West Allis and open M-F: 10-7, Sat: 10-5, Sun: 12-3

Decorating with beer: Bar stools

Flo stool by Patricia Urquiola for driade via apartment therapy

Marais stool from DWR

Elle Decor

via apartment therapy

Martha Stewart

decorpad

Cottage Living