Beer and cheese tasting

The cheese selection.

Last Friday night I found myself in the company of Kevin Sheridan, Sheridan's Cheesemongers, doing a beer and cheese tasting, as part of the Waterford Harvest Fest. The event was a sell-out, and so in the grand setting of the Theatre Royal vestibule a crowd of fifty people gathered to pair some of the finest cheese in Munster with our own beer (along with some cider from Cork and Apple juice from Tipperary).

We started off the evening with Triskel ash-covered raw goat cheese, paired with sparkling apple juice from The Apple Farm near Cahir. A delicate cheese, and the carbonation from the juice a perfect way to get the proceedings going.


Next up was Durrus, a washed rind cheese from Co. Cork, which we put together with Stonewell cider, also from Cork. Again this semi-soft cheese worked well with the sweetness from the apples.

And then it was on to the beer.

All three of our beers were paired with different cheeses. First up was Helvick Gold, paired with a local cheese, Knockanore Smoked cheese from Ballyneety. This one probably caused the most debate - the smokiness from the cheese could have worked equally as well with something more robust, like a stout, but the hops in the Helvick Gold seemed to balance well with the smoky sweetness of the cheese.

Next up was Copper Coast and Coolea, a Gouda style cheese from Macroom, Cork. Coolea I know very well, as it was my go-to cheese over the Bloom in the park weekend earlier in the summer. For me it was a winning combination, as we were edging towards ploughman's lunch territory here.

Finally it was the turn of Black Rock Stout with Cashel Blue cheese from Tipperary. Blue cheese and porter/stout is another classic combination, and this robust pairing was a perfect way to bring proceedings to a close.

As with any beer and food matchings, nothing is set in stone, and some lively discussion followed each pairing, which always adds to the interest and enjoyment of these evenings.

Hopefully we will get to run another beer and cheese tasting event in the not too distant future.

Kevin Sheridan educating us all on his knowledge of the world of cheese

I try to do something similar with beer.

Preparing the Black Rock Stout, matched with Cashel Blue.

There was plenty of lively discussion on our suggested pairings.

Relaxing at the end of a successful evening.

All photos courtesy of Emagine Media.