The last week of September was British Cheese Week, part of British Food Fortnight and aimed to encourage interest in Britain’s regional food and drink heritage. The public was encouraged to team local cheeses with local beers and ciders. Both are traditional country products whose flavours complement each other.

Beer experts suggest that mild cheeses go well with light bitters, medium flavour cheese should be eaten with full bodied ales, while mature or blue cheese is complemented by porters, stouts and old ales. Wheat beers, chocolate stouts and fruit beers can be a tasty combination with specialty cheeses.

Essentially both cheese and beer should be of a similar flavour strength. North West cheeses such as Allerdale goats cheese and blue Lancashire could be teamed with Loweswater Melbreak and Grasmoor for example.

Other menu suggestions included Yates Bitter with scallops and bean salad; Cocker Hoop with Herdwick lamb and aubergine pickle; Coniston Bluebird with rabbit and wild mushrooms; Derwent’s Whitwell Mark Kendal Pale Ale with haddock risotto cakes.

back to What Ales