Some flavour pairings just seem meant to be. Beer and cheese are one of them. Rich in character and variety, local cheeses come in a wide range of flavour profiles—sometimes mild and lactic, other times bold and vegetal, fruity, or even toasty. Beers, with their diverse aromas and unique styles, offer the perfect playground to highlight these nuances.
When brought together, they create surprising tasting moments where flavours echo, contrast, or balance beautifully.
What do we mean by a cheese’s flavour profile?
Tasting cheese is about more than just flavour—it’s a full sensory experience. Experts at Fromages d’ici use the term flavour profile (flaveur in French) to describe the impressions a cheese leaves in the mouth: not only its taste, but also its aroma, texture, and even the sensations it creates.
Each cheese family develops a dominant profile, which may be:
- 1Lactique : fresh milk, yogurt, butter
- 2Animal : broth, barnyard notes.
- 3 Floral : honey, clover, violet.
- 4 Vegetal : cut grass, hay, cooked vegetables.
- 5 Mushroom : bloomy rind, blue cheese.
- 6 Toasty : coffee, caramel, roasted hazelnut
- 7 Fruity: apple, citrus, dried fruit
The intensity of these flavours ranges from mild to powerful—and that’s what guides the choice of beer to pair with it.
The keys to a perfect pairing:
Three simple principles help create harmony between beer and cheese:
- 1 Resonance : when beer and cheese share similar flavours.
- 2 Contrast : when their differences balance and enhance each other.
- 3 Balance : when their intensities match without overpowering one another.
Explore beer & cheese pairings by flavour profile
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