Forget wine; Try a cheese-and-beer flight
Lindsey Schechter is on a mission to bring the best Texas cheeses to local plates.
That mission has been a resounding success, birthing a charming little brickand-mortar cheese shop, the Houston Dairymaids, 2201 Airline Drive.
Schechter’s shop is a retail link between small cheese producers and the local market. She seeks out small dairy farmer cheese makers and brings their product to their shelves.
Since she’s already brought cheese from farm to table, Schechter is now taking the Dairymaids’ offerings from “farm-to-pub.”
“You hear about cheese and wine, but actually wine has tannins which can battle cheeses, whereas beer has a sweetness to compliment the flavors of the cheese,” Schechter said. “The effervescence of beer also cuts through the thickness of cheese, allowing the full spectrum of flavor to really touch the palate.”
In a partnership with Houston’s own Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the Dairymaids host a beer and cheese pairing every fourth Friday during the brewery’s Pub Night.
Dairymaids representative Nicole Buergers said many of the complimentary cheese and beer pairings offer a surprise, such as her personal favorite: Pure Luck Chevre from Dripping Springs, Texas, served alongside a pint of Saint Arnold’s Weedwacker.
“The brightness of the chevre cuts through the hefeweizen nicely and creates an extremely pleasant third flavor,” Buergers said.
She said it’s common and yet unexpected, the flavors a beer and cheese might bring out in one another.
She said a pairing will sometimes give a new take on a familiar beer.
“I really didn’t like Weedwacker, but since having it with the Pure Luck Chevre, I now find myself craving a pint sometimes,” Buergers said.
Buergers said the beer and cheeses are skillfully matched by the Dairymaids, and the pairings are always changing, just as artisan cheeses change, so no two Pub Nights with the Dairymaids will be the same.
“Every time you open a wheel of cheese, it’s going to be a new experience,” she said. “Cheese is seasonal, and each wheel is different, so what worked six months ago may not work now.”
To keep the beer and cheese pairings fresh, the Dairymaids go to Saint Arnold’s before each Pub Night event to sample their current cheeses with the beer and decide on what will be offered.
They typically serve five to six cheeses with a flight of beer samples.
Some cheeses are paired to beer with similar flavor profiles, like Beehive Cheese Company’s Barely Buzzed Cheddar which is rubbed with espresso and lavender, and has been paired with a Coffee Porter; or Dallas’ Mozzarella Company’s Cella, whose lemon-grass wrapped goat-and-cows milk blended cheese has been paired with the lemon-hinted sour wheat Berleiner Weisse.
Buergers said a litany of Mexican and Spanish cheeses have been a hit with the fan-favorite Kolsh-style Santo.
Saint Arnold Brewing Company representative Lennie Ambrose said the brewery has a longstanding history with the Dairymaids, which began in 2007 when owner Brock Wagner went for a run near Rice University’s Farmers Market.
Wagner spotted the Dairymaids’ stand and stopped to chat and share his love of cheese with Schechter. Wagner began integrating the Dairymaids cheeses into some of the food menu items at Saint Arnold’s, and bringing the Dairymaids in for private party tastings and special events.
Echoing a nationwide trend of beer and cheese pairing partnerships emerging in craft breweries, the Dairymaids began their beer and cheese pairings with Saint Arnold’s in 2015.
At each event, the Dairymaids bring their cheeses along with their staff, and give a little background on the featured cheeses and pairings for patrons.
And just to add a hint of sweetness to the partnership, local pastry chef Rebecca Masson of the Fluff Bake Bar incorporates the Dairymaids cheeses into a dessert on occasion.
“We’re probably a little biased, but we think beer and cheer pair better than cheese and wine,” Ambrose said. The Houston Dairymaids beer and cheese pairings are featured every fourth Friday Pub Night, from 5-10 p.m, at Saint Arnold Brewing Co., 2000 Lyons Ave.