{"id":2269,"date":"2014-02-24T16:57:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T21:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2016-04-29T11:55:44","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T15:55:44","slug":"bring-on-the-funk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/bring-on-the-funk\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheese + Beer: Sours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beer history tells us that the first brewers had very little to no concept of yeast. Belgians would boil up some grains and leave the resulting liquid (called wort<\/em>) in large open-topped vessels to sit overnight. And before calling it a day, they\u2019d open all the windows of the brewery\u2014an invitation for any airborne microflora to come feast on the sweet wort. In the morning, fermentation would have begun, and after a few weeks of aging in oak barrels, they\u2019d have a sour, fruity, tart, acidic start to a refreshing beer.<\/p>\n

While that beverage would certainly find a home in Belgium\u2014it\u2019s called lambic<\/em> and is still made in traditional form\u2014most brewers would soon learn that it was in their best interest to keep clear of those wild yeasts. After all, once certain microbes are welcomed through the doors, it can be awfully difficult to keep those funky, sour characteristics from making their way into everything a brewery does. English, German, and eventually American brewers would choose instead to stick to the cultivated yeasts that reliably produced the ales and lagers their customers had grown so accustomed to.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/div>\n

As time went on and scientific knowledge caught up to microbiology, brewers were able to better understand the various types of yeast strains available to them. In 1904, while exploring why certain beers continued to spoil, an employee of the Danish brewery Carlsberg stumbled upon a strain of yeast called Brettanomyces<\/i> (or Brett). This was the little guy imparting barnyardy aromas that didn\u2019t mesh very well with English ale.<\/p>\n

If unintentional, the presence of Brett and certain types of bacteria in beer is still considered a defect in most styles outside Belgium. However, the American craft-brewing renaissance and ever-evolving American palate have created a landscape where funky, sour beers are enjoying a healthy resurgence. It\u2019s a great moment when beers with sensory characteristics such as \u201chorse blanket\u201d and \u201csweaty saddle\u201d are actually sought after in the United States. Breweries around the country are now purposely introducing wild yeast into their beers\u2014something that would have been sacrilegious just 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

Another growing trend involves aging beer in oak barrels\u2014some previously used to age wine. Once Brett makes its way into the porous wood of an oak barrel, it\u2019s likely to stay there for a long, long time. Some breweries will solely use Brett to ferment a beer, while others will allow yeast in the wood to create a second fermentation. Wood barrels are also home to such bacteria as Pediococcus<\/i> and Lactobacillus<\/i>, both of which convert sugars into lactic acid, producing sour and tart notes in beer.<\/p>\n

For the past ten years or so, American-made wild beers have grown from having a cult following to being held in high reverence in the foodie scene. And in no place do these beers find a better home than next to an artisan cheese that can stand up to their intense flavors and aromas. At last, funk is in fashion.<\/p>\n

Russian River Temptation & Cato Corner Farm Hooligan<\/h3>\n

Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo are geographically predisposed to making sour beers. You see, their aptly named Russian River Brewing Co.<\/a> is located\u2014where else\u2014in the midst of California\u2019s wine country. Lots of vineyards equals lots of wine barrels. And for the past ten years, the Cilurzos have used their neighbor\u2019s spent barrels to age a collection of wild beers that are renowned around the country. Temptation, a Belgian blond ale, spends a full year in French oak Chardonnay barrels with Brett, leaving the beer with fruity and woodsy characteristics. The beer also undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, providing a bright funky effervescence. And those bubbles are going to come in handy when pairing Temptation with Hooligan, a stinky washed-rind cheese from Cato Corner Farm<\/a> in Connecticut. The beer\u2019s carbonation lifts the cheese\u2019s creamy paste from your palate. The pungency of both beer and cheese mingle, then leave your palate to enjoy a subtle hint of fruit at the finish.<\/p>\n

Allagash Confluence & Dancing Cow Farmstead Bourr\u00e9e<\/h3>\n

The proprietary Belgian yeast Allagash Brewing Co.<\/a> uses to make their flagship white ale provides a perfect canvas on which to introduce wild yeast and build supercomplex flavors and aromas. Allagash Confluence utilizes both the brewery\u2019s house Belgian yeast strain and a strain of Brett they\u2019ve been propagating over the years. The result is a lovely mixture of big fruity flavors and aromas\u2014pear always seems to shine\u2014with more nuanced tones of funk. Confluence balances complex malt sweetness and a more traditional European hop profile. The modest carbonation of this beer is ideal when paired with a cheese such as Bourr\u00e9e from Dancing Cow Farm<\/a>. The grassy flavors and assertive aromas on the washed rind cry out for the beer\u2019s blend of earthy hops and ripe fruitiness.<\/p>\n

New Belgium La Folie & Haystack Mountain Red Cloud<\/h3>\n

Replicating the classic sour beers of the Flanders region of Belgium is no easy task. These sour red and brown ales must enjoy a healthy stint in French oak before the wood\u2019s natural bacteria can impart the tart fruitiness that defines the style. In their quest to craft a sour red of their own, New Belgium Brewing Co.<\/a> enlisted the help of a brewer from the historic Belgian brewery Rodenbach. The resulting La Folie pays the finest homage to the style that any American brewer makes today. After hanging in the brewery\u2019s French oak tanks for one to three years, the beer comes out superdry with hints of sour apple and a distinct acidic finish. When paired with Red Cloud, an aged goat\u2019s milk cheese from New Belgium\u2019s neighboring Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy<\/a>, the beer plays nicely with the cheese\u2019s rich tanginess. Sixty days of aging gives this washed-rind cheese an intense flavor that stands up to what is a truly remarkable style of beer.<\/p>\n

Feature Photo Credit: Kurt Brownell<\/a><\/em><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The beer has gone bad, and that’s a good thing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[148,572],"coauthors":[147],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-pairings","tag-beer","tag-cheese-and-drinks-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCheese + Beer: Sours - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/bring-on-the-funk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cheese + Beer: Sours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The beer has gone bad, and that's a good thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/bring-on-the-funk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grantgbradley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-24T21:57:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-04-29T15:55:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/beerfunk_ftr.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Jenkins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Jenkins\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/bring-on-the-funk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/bring-on-the-funk\/\",\"name\":\"Cheese + Beer: Sours - 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