Building a beautiful and delicious cheese board is easy and fun to serve! Pair your cheese and accoutrements with beer and you have yourself a party. Inspired by the spring and summer months, here are a few tasty combinations of beer and cheese to pair and try.
Leinenkugel’s Grapefruit Shandy* + Camembert – This lightly grapefruit flavored shandy pairs nicely with the flavors of Camembert cheese and blueberries.
Blue Moon Belgian White + Goat Cheese – The citrus notes of this beer are best served with creamy mild goat cheese and sesame crackers, yum!
Crispin Original + Sharp Cheddar – This hard cider is the perfect sip with sharp cheddar and Soppressata salami.
Click here for more tasty beer and cheese pairings you can use!
Now that we have our menu planned, let’s build the cheese board!
1. Choose the perfect board.
Pick a board that is large enough to hold the amount of cheese and other pairings you wish to serve. From traditional wooden cutting boards to ceramic serving platters, you can use just about anything in your kitchen to create the base for your cheese board. I chose a marble board because it keeps the cheese cool and is also a lovely neutral background for all of the cheese, fruit and nuts. Also, assemble bowls, cheese knives, linens and the glasses you will use for your beer pairings.
2. Start with the cheese.
Choose three cheeses that complement the three beers you are planning to serve. Offer a variety, one hard cheese either cow or sheep’s milk, one goat cheese, and one additional cheese, in this case I chose a soft cheese, camembert. This gives a variety of textures and flavors to choose from. Camembert to pair with Leinenkugel’s Grapefruit Shandy, creamy goat cheese to compliment Blue Moon Belgian White, and sharp cheddar to pair with Crispin Original. Arrange the cheeses around your board, allowing room around them for accoutrements. You will also want to plan out a bit of blank space to label your beer and cheese pairing later.
3. Jams, Spreads & Honey.
Next, decide if you are offering any jams, spreads or honey to accompany your cheeses. Try finding a local honey or homemade jams at your local farmer’s market! You can find some really interesting and delicious seasonal offering. Serve spreads in small bowls with spoons or honey sticks. Fig jam, quince paste and honey are some of my favorites cheese board additions.
4. Bring on the Fruit!
The next layer to add to your cheese board is the fruit. This brings color, texture and visual interest to your board. Add a variety of seasonal fruits that compliment your beer and cheese choices. I chose sliced green pear, blueberries and blackberries. Dried fruits are another interesting offering to include. I love offering dried apricots and candied citrus slices as well.
5. Other Accoutrements.
Running out of room? Don’t worry! You can pile these extras into any small spaces between the cheese and fruit. An abundant cheese board is the best kind and more appealing to the eye. Begin to add meats like soppresata, olives, roasted nuts, and of course crackers. Just like with cheese and the beer, choose a variety of crackers or other types of breads for guests to try.
6. Finishing Touches.
Add fresh flowers or herbs to the board to fill in any spaces that need a pop of color or a bit more texture. Add a few cheese knives on top and, most importantly, label your cheese and beer pairings so that guests know what they’re tasting. I used a removable “wine marker” meant for labeling glasses. It’s easy to write directly on your marble board and wipe it away later. You could also use chalkboard cheese markers and bottle caps to label the pairings.
7. Pour & Enjoy!
Now it’s time to pour tasting glasses of beer, make the perfect cheese and cracker bite, taste and enjoy!
See here for more tasty beer and cheese pairings!
*Weiss beer with grapefruit flavor
