Belgian Beer and Cheese Pairing Ideas
 

It is church auction time. Many of the members of my church put together dinner parties or other similar events, and offer a number of seats to the event at the silent auction. This year, I want to guide a beer and cheese pairing.

I am thinking that we want four beers, and four cheeses. For simplicity sake, I want to do all one region. Given the diversity of Belgian beers and the link between the Church and beer in Belgium, I thought that it would be cool to do four Belgian beers.

My initial thought is to do a Wit, a Saison, an Abby style ale, and a sour ale.

I am giving myself a few months to do some research. I will probably host the actual event in February.

I am coming here for some input and ideas.

1. Does this sound like a good selection of beer styles?
2. Any particular beers that I should look for at a reasonably well stocked bottle store?
3. Most important, do you have any specific ideas for cheese pairings?

I will be sure to check in with any fantastic pairings I stumble upon until then. Please share any opinions you have about this event.

I would do a dubbel, a tripel, a saison, and a kriek. But that's just me!

On the other hand, it might be cool to do a Trappist ale, and an Abbey ale, then explain the legal distinction, and see if anyone can taste the difference.

Not sure about cheeses. When I did some tours over there, the emphasis was always on the beer (and very cold shots of very bad vodka.) They served cheddar once though.

For a saison, I think Saison Dupont is the way to go. Reasonably priced here, available, and delicious to boot.

For a Trappist, I'm partial to Rochefort 8. :)

Great idea! I'd bid on it!

Thanks for the cheese link. There is a local cheese shop that does beer and cheese pairings with a local brewery, so maybe they will have some more suggestions. Particularly interested in the aged gouda- in my initial tasting research, my brother happened to have some gouda in his refrigerator that we threw in with some of the high-end cheeses that I picked out, and it provided some interesting pairs.

I think Saison Dupont is a must. I may consider a dubble and a tripel. Trying to capture Belgium in four beers is tough, and my original thought was that doing both would mean that I would be excluding a classic Belgian genre. I think the solution to this problem can only be solved by some more drinking and eating.

Think of me if you come up with any other interesting ideas.

Limburger is actually a Belgian cheese and is named after where it originated ... in the Belgian province of Limburg. It's one of my favorite soft cheeses.
I would pair it with Malheur 12 (brewed by De Landtsheer). 12% ABV ... very dark, malty, caramel, spice notes and floral hops. I think this would be a great combination.

Possibly interesting too with Limburger but in a different way would be a Val-Dieu Grand Cru ... 10.5% ABV, so dark red you can't really see thru it. Roasted malt and chocolate ... a bit sour and sweet. I think Whole Foods actually carries it.