From Switzerland with love: beer and cheese, unforgettable goodness

Beer and cheese is a great idea for an Apèro and Antipasti with friends. When I have friends over, whether for a toast or dinner, I know how to delight them (and myself) with something original and delicious: beer and cheese!

First of all, I choose great craft beer. There are many options to choose from, depending on mood, season and food pairing ideas. Lighter beers in summer and stronger beers in winter, more flavoured beers for those open to an extra taste and lighter beers for those who like a milder taste or for craft beer beginners.

Then I choose the right cheeses to accompany them. I get a mix of four or five cheeses, from soft to hard. A goat’s cheese for the fine palate and a very mature one, intense in flavor are among the selection. I can’t help but grab a French baguette: the crispy crust and soft crumbs invite to eat the next bite of cheese. The French make great bread and fortunately I can easily find fragrant baguettes in one of the bakeries around the corner in France. I consider myself very lucky to have all these gastronomic options in and around Basel, where I live!

My beer and cheese experience in Basel, Switzerland

I come from a country (Italy) that has a long tradition of cheese and I am lucky enough to live in another country (Switzerland) that also has a long reputation for fine cheeses. In particular, Basel is very rich in both craft beer and cheese. Craft beer has been booming here for at least a decade and the pubs are always full. Craft cheese has been present since ever and the cheese shops are permanently full.

Swiss and French cheeses are the most popular. The delicious Fondue and raclette are the best sellers in autumn and winter. French Camembert and various double and triple cream cheeses are very popular in summer. Over the past 10 years, I have witnessed a great increase in Italian cheeses both in terms of quality and quantity, especially the young and milky Mozzarella di Bufala (Buffalo Mozzarella) and the aged and intensely flavoured Parmigiano Reggiano.

Beer and cheese have a lot in common. Just like craft beer, cheese is a fermented product that ‘lives’ thanks to its good bacteria or fungi and is rich in types and varieties: there is something for all tastes!

Beer and cheese is a combination I love and learned to appreciate from my very first homebrewing experience. I know this might sound strange. However, a dear beer friend of mine from Spain regularly joins me in home brewing. We usually brew on Sundays and spend the day working on the beer, but also chatting, drinking and eating during production breaks. . One of the delicacies we regularly have is an excellent Spanish Manchego, which my friend obtains from an artisanal cheese maker back home. We love it with our hoppy amber beer.

Inspired by this experience, I have read a book on the subject and then decided to talk to a great cheese producer around Basel and to a top cheese refiner in France. We decided to work together and combined each Fermento beer with cheese. It worked just great to the point that we started to run degustation for the shop visitors and beer and cheese workshops.

Beer and cheeseis more than than a valid alternative to wine

So, your friends have arrived and you lead them to the laid table. The question you’ll most likely receive is (at least the one I get every time: how come beer and cheese, and not wine?

However, rather than replacing wine, it is about having the best experience on the most suitable occasion.

On a very hot day a suitable craft beer is certainly a better choice to accompany, for example, a good triple-cream cheese such as Brillat-Savarin rather than a strong red wine (Bordeaux is usually recommended).

In an appetizing Antipasto (starter), before a dinner where you know that plenty of alcoholic drinks will be served, beer is more advisable due to its lower alcohol content than wine. A bottle of beer (3.3 dL) contains about the same volume of alcohol as a normal glass of wine (1 dL).

In a tasty Apèro where your friends prefer beer to wine. My Spanish friend for example does not drink wine at all, but good beer.

These and similar occasions might be the right ones to choose the beer and cheese option and surely your friends and you will discover something really tasty and unique. Try it!

Beer and cheese – my recommendation to make this a great marriage

To ensure the best beer and cheese pairing experience and an excellent marriage between the two, a few precautions are essential.

Firstly, get yourself a good craft beer. Firstly, get yourself a good craft beer. Secondly, forget all those beers that are sitting on the most accessible supermarket shelves and that are regularly discounted at 20-40% every four weeks. Indeed, the famous brands are mostly brewed as refreshing enjoyment. They have too often a neutral taste and are therefore unsuitable for our purpose. For the same reason, rather than buying cheese from large multinationals, get a good artisanal cheese. Big cheese companies have no time for long cheese maturation either. It will be hard to find a good hard matured cheese in large supermarkets.

Beer and cheese must be consumed at the right point in time. Avoid Pilsner, Weizen, malty ambers or IPAs that are close to the expiring date. Contrarily, this rule can be overlooked for beers such as for e.g., stouts and Belgian strong ales. Similarly, of course, look at the cheese expiry dates particularly for fresh cheese. Hard cheeses last much longer and often improve with time, if properly preserved.

High alcohol content in beer has not much relevance. Don’t look at high alcohol beers just because wine has a high alcohol content. Our goal is not to make this the same as wine and cheese pairing. Beers can have a low alcohol content and still match well with simple flavoured cheeses.

The best beer and cheese combinations to try out and enjoy:

How to enjoy beer and cheese and have a great experience

Make sure everything is ready for your friends to join your beer and cheese Apéro (or Antipasti). As a general rule, make sure the cheese is at room temperature(about 20˚C). At this temperature, cheese releases its best flavour. No need for a thermometer, just take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before your friends arrive. And if they arrive late, don’t worry about those extra minutes….

The same goes for beers: make sure they are at best serving temperature to better appreciate the flavour. Drink Pilsners and Weizen at approx. 4-8°C, just out of the fridge. Drink other beer styles (e.g. amber ales, stouts) at approx. 10˚C, 15-20 minutes after taking them out of the fridge.

Start with soft, fresh cheeses and drink mild-flavoured beers (e.g.: Pilsner, wheat beers, malt Amber Ales). Then move on to tastier, more mature cheeses and drink beers with a more intense aroma (American amber ale, stout and honey beers). Always leave IPA beers to the end. Their hop aromas can overpower the taste of all the other beers that follow.

Key steps for successful beer and cheese degustation

Perfect match

The combined taste is completely new, full of pleasant and persistent flavour

Neutral match

Neither the taste of beer nor cheese prevails. However, combined taste is mild or neutral.

Imperfect match

The combined taste is completely new, but not pleasant.

Imbalanced Match

the taste of beer prevails over cheese (or the other way around)

Beer and cheese is a unique, fun and above all very delicious experience, that I highly recommend. Get the best craft beer and cheese, follow a few simple steps and you will get the best.

To learn more, download our Fermento Guide on beer and cheese pairing. We tell you about the tradition of these fantastic products and share our experience on how to choose beers and cheeses according to your favourite taste (sour, sweet, bitter, etc.).

We also answer the question: Does beer go well with fondue? If you already have an answer, please share it in the comments below, as well as any comments or questions about this article.