The flavors of alpine cheeses pair well with Belgian style strong golden ales, ambers, bocks or doppelbocks, dubbels or stouts. The options are endless, but we’ve put together a few dynamic duos to get you started.

Cave Aged Gruyere This raw cow’s milk alpine cheese is aged for a minimum of one year in naturally occurring caves. It has a sweet, nutty and spicy flavor that matches the fruity yet spicy flavors found in Belgian style strong pale ales like Goose Island Matilda. This ale has aromas of cloves, biscuits and butter and flavors of tart citrus, yeast, fig and roasted nuts. The complex, medium-bodied beer with low carbonation is super refreshing and pairs well with a wide range of foods. 

Comte With flavor notes of roasted nuts, cream and savory bacon or caramelized onion, this French, raw cow’s milk alpine cheese pairs well with the roasted character of stouts like Firestone Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout. This decadent stout has robust cocoa and espresso flavors and aromas with just a hint of hops on the nose. It has a wonderful creamy mouth feel and a nice dry finish. A toasty, deep brown ale like Yolo Brewing's Nutty Brown is also a perfect pairing with Comte. The nutty tones in the cheese and the roasted nut flavors from the malt complement each other beautifully and the mild acidity level and moderate carbonation in the beer keeps the richness of the cheese from overwhelming the palate.

Raclette This creamy, flavorful cow’s milk cheese is traditionally served melted. It has a rich, earthy, lactic flavor that matches well with the crispness of the bubbles in Calicraft Brewing Co. Winter Sparkling Ale. This lager-like beer brewed with wine yeast has mild tropical fruit notes and aromas of allspice. The slightly tart and earthy flavors in the beer are accented by roasted chestnut flavors, light carbonation and a crisp dry finish.

Alpkase The North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout is loaded with roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavors that are complex and bold enough to stand up to the strongest flavors of the Alpkase.

Fontina A classic Pilsner lager is a great match for a lighter more delicate cheese like Fontina. The Trummer Pilsner has light notes of floral hops on the nose and toasted biscuits on the palate with a crisp clean slightly bitter finish that accents the creamy flavors and texture of the Fontina.

Learn more about what makes alpine cheeses unique with our Daily Dish: All About Alpine Cheeses!