Say cheese

Tunnels built in the 1850s to make beer are now breathing pungent new life into something equally delicious: 2,800 pounds of cheese.

The Crown Finish Caves opened in 2014 in what used to be pre-refrigeration tunnels for the old Nassau Brewing Company in Crown Heights. The three 70-foot-long caverns offered a chilly temperature for the lager, which fermented in open barrels in the Brooklyn caves. The brewery closed in 1914, and was used as storage by H.J. Heinz Company and later a moving company, until owners Susan Boyle and Benton Brown took it over in the early aughts.

Now, one of the three caverns is used to treat and age cheese sent from makers as far as Italy and sold in New York City, Philadelphia, DC, Boston, Chicago and Nashville, Tenn. The CFC team often experiments on the

fromage aging in their facility, using beer and cider washes from nearby breweries and different salt brines to treat the cheese.

And while the cheese caves aren’t open to the public, Crown recently started hosting bimonthly folk-music events in one of the original beer tunnels. For each show, a different chef and brewery team up, serving food, drinks — and, of course, cheese. Tickets ($20) sell out fast after they’re announced on the Caves’ Instagram, @crownfinishcaves.

925 Bergen St #101, Crown Heights; CrownFinishCaves .com, 718-857-2717