Beer and Cheese at Wicked Weed

Wicked Weed's Funkatorium has a more limited menu than the flagship brewpub- most of the food is meant for nibbling on, rather than sitting for a full meal. One of the more appetizing spreads though is their daily cheese plate. In addition to the cheeses, the board is adorned with crackers, fried apricots, poached currants, walnuts, and pecans. The spread was a delight, and I nabbed my friends' beers in order to do this tasting.

The Beer Team

1. Bless Her Heart

A sour beer inspired by the Southern love of peach iced tea. A blend of Brett 

and sour stock barrels, combined with peaches, lemon, ginger, and imported

black tea from Dobra Tea (local)

2. Black Angel

A sour black ale brewed with one pound of sweet and tart cherries per barrel,

and then aged in bourbon barrels

3. India Blue IPA

A hoppy IPA with a soft hint of blueberry and ginger

"Bless Her Heart" was my favorite beer of the three. It had a spicy nose and was very tart. The ginger was very forward and balanced nicely by the black tea. "India Blue" was an exciting twist on a traditional IPA, which can typically pick up grapefruit and citrus notes. The blueberry and ginger were nice and subtle, which let the hops shine- very well balanced. "Black Angel" came in third, with a pungent coffee profile imparted from the Bourbon Barrels. I felt the cherries were overshadowed by the darker flavors of the barrel.

CJ with his Bless Her Heart, trying to warm it up

The Cheese Team

1. Firm yellow cheese

2. Crumbly goat cheese

3. Soft white cheese

All of these cheeses had crazy insanely long names and my waitress said them too quickly for me to write them down. The yellow cheese was the favorite of the group. It was sharp and woody and very flavorful. The goat cheese had a funkier taste and was very crumbly and dry. The texture threw me off, and this cheese ended up not getting finished. The soft cheese was absolutely delicious, with a soft nuttiness and sweetness that charmed everyone.

Top, clockwise: soft white cheese, crumbly goat cheese, sharp yellow cheese

To note, the goat cheese tasted best when paired with the Red Angel raspberry sour, but it was not included in this tasting.

The Matchup

Bless Her Heart

Cheese 1: This beer helped mellow out the overbearing flavors of the cheese. It lost its bite, but brought out the woody flavor. 

Cheese 2: They did NOT compliment each other. There were no flavor differences or changes between the two.

Cheese 3: The peaches and ginger of this beer brought out a lot of the sweetness in the cheese. It was so creamy and delicious, this was one of my favorite pairings.

Black Angel

Cheese 1: The oaky smokey of the beer balanced out the bite of the cheese, reducing its sting and bringing a nice smoked flavor to the table. There was a great round warmness on the mid palate that lingered nicely.

Cheese 2: The goat cheese was not serviced well by this beer either. The taste was a little rounder, but this cheese was easily overpowered and left behind by the cherry sour.

Cheese 3: This cheese shined with the Black Angel. It was creamy and smooth and so light, it could've made a great dessert.

India Blue

Cheese 1: The hops of the beer paired with the cheddar cheese and made it kickingly sharp. It really brought out those sharp cheddar qualities that were mellowed out by the other two brews.

Cheese 2: The cheese tasted chalkier and drier when eaten with a hoppy beer. Poor goat cheese.

Cheese 3: The hoppy blueberry quality of the IPA helped this cheese reach more savory notes than with the other two beers. The nuttier qualities shone brighter, and a slight saltiness came forward as well. This was a great pairing.

My pint of India Blue

I think wine, with its depth of flavor, has the ability to pair better with cheese than beer does. Beer typically has a more straightforward flavor profile: hoppy, malty, boozy, etc. This simplicity doesn't bring out the subtler flavors of a quiet cheese, but it does help mellow out a sharp cheese, like the cheddar that I had at the Funkatorium. Bold beers pair best with bold cheeses.

With that said, the sour beers made by Wicked Weed seem to bridge the gap between a complex wine and a simple lager. I haven't ever experienced a memorable back palate flavor with a beer, but Wicked Weed's program is pushing flavor profiles further into the mid palate, creating a depth of flavor that other breweries can't achieve. Their sours are well balanced, which compliments a smoother cheese. 

I would be interested to pair more of their sours and funky ales with funkier cheeses, like bleu and Gruyere. I want to see how the pungent Brettanomyces that are used at Wicked Weed pair with a crumbly, moldy, bold cheese. 

The End

Bonus Chris and Genesis sour Sorbetto!