Okay, not to beat a drum but we went to another cheese and beer tasting event last night and it was EPIC. Going in knowing that the menu would include 10 pairings, I was a bit intimidated. Luckily, both the beers and cheeses were more on the mellow side, lighter beers without super complex flavors and cheeses that were all unique but none that really knocked your palette out. We also sampled Rogue’s new whiskey which was pretty darn good as whiskey goes. I could definitely see taking it on a camping trip which is my metric for tasty whiskey.

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Oh wow, summer is just so busy, busy, busy. I have several in-depth posts sitting here in draft mode waiting for more depth before posting — so many ideas, so much beautiful sunshine out there. One of the things occupying my mind right now is a road trip I am planning to the Olympics and San Juan Islands. Of course, I want to visit some creameries along the way so I’ve been cozying up with Tami Parr’s new book —

Tami Parr, as I’m sure you know, is the voice behind The Pacific Northwest Cheese Project and is also very active with the Oregon Cheese Guild. She is an excellent writer and she puts those talents to the page with Artisan Cheese of the Pacific Northwest. The guide covers about 75 cheese makers in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and B.C. It’s organized by state and has a great map so you can see when you’re nearing Mt. Townsend Creamery and plan accordingly. I plan to keep this in the car and the more I refer to it the more I’ll be reminded that life is good.

So, the Mister and I are big beer fans around here. He has been homebrewing for a couple years and I swear that he has never made a bad beer. There has been one or two strange beers but nothing undrinkable. In fact, most of them have been highly drinkable! When I started getting interested in making cheese I felt like there was some kind of crossover potential there. They both relate to the science of applied heat. They both relate to farm life — beer is made from grains, cows eat grains and grasses. But, obviously, these are tenuous connections. The light came on, though, when I started reading about pairing cheese with beer.

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