Good, and good for you. So good that it has an aura.

Many thanks to Bill for the odiferous French cheese, and to Karen for photographing me in the act of smelling deeply of it. The cheese later disappeared in the company of a bottle of NABC Jaxon. Yummy.

Office Hours tonight: Impromptu beer and cheese pairing.

Last week, those in attendance decided to stage a potluck cheese and beer tasting for tonight's Office Hours with the Publican.

The price of admission this evening is cheese. Bring enough so that a dozen persons can sample at least a sliver. If you bring cheese, then beers to match are on the Publican and there'll be no charge for participation. We'll select the beers on the spot and look for the best pairings.

Sounds fair to me. See you there, 6:30 p.m., Prost room at the NABC Pizzeria & Public House.

Recap: Will's and Roger's excellent beer and cheese pairing adventure.

First, Will "Lotsa Pasta Cheesemonger" Eaves and I met at the Public House to do the necessary research for our beer and cheese pairing, which took place earlier this week at Campbell's Gourmet Cottage in Louisville.

Having made the pairings, and now on site, Will had the tough job of prepping and arranging the nine cheeses. I had a cooler filled with beer, and a bottle opener. However, I was briefly useful and filled the baskets with crackers and bread.

Here is Will at work, as conveyed by the classroom monitors. The tasting went wonderfully, and we had a group of 16 in attendance. Owing to availability, a few changes were made, and these are reflected below.

EIGHT CHEESE AND BEER PAIRINGS

Delice de Bourgogne / rich and decadent triple cream cheese
Maredsous 10/ effervescent and deceptively strong Tripel from Belgium – Tripel, with triple cream cheese

Caciotta Dolce (goat cheese) / locally made semi-hard cheese from Sapori d'Italia, paired with peach and coriander jam
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale / made distinctively “American” by the liberal use of citrusy west coast Cascade hops

Cahill’s Farm Porter Aged Cheddar / Irish cheddar marbled with Porter beer
NABC Bob’s Old 15-B Porter / the style of dark ale that begat Irish stout, with notes of roast, chocolate and coffee

Widmer Farms Aged Brick / classic American washed rind cheese
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen / beechwood smoked amber lager from Bavaria

Epoisses / THE stinky French masterpiece
NABC Hoptimus / double strength India Pale Ale, brewed with 4 additions of bitter Nugget hops and citrusy Cascade to finish

Grand Cru Gruyere Surchoix / Wisconsin's excellent take on the Swiss classic
Saison Dupont / hoppy, peppery farmhouse golden ale from the French-speaking Belgian province of Hainaut

Chimay Fromage Bier / Belgian monastic cheese, washed in the monastery’s own Trappist ale
Chimay Premiere (red label) / classic Belgian monastic amber ale, certified Trappist

Moody Blue / light blue cheese smoked with sweet fruit woods
Kloster Ettaler Doppelbock / sturdy Bavarian dark lager originally formulated by monks as a dietary supplement for Lent

BONUS PAIRING

Red Dragon / Welsh cheddar laden with strong English mustard … "the dragon bites you back"
Cantillon Gueuze Lambic / THE funky Belgian masterpiece, naturally fermented with wild yeast

Original posting: Will's and Roger's excellent beer and cheese pairing adventure at Campbell's Gourmet Cottage, Monday, January 11.

Weekend potpourri: NABCieged, beer education, Bonfire & Chorizo, Pungent & Funky, and pairing cheese with beer.

NABCieged is underway at the Pizzeria & Public House, with a surprise tapping last night of Thunderfoot perhaps serving as the major highlight of the evening. Thanks to Jared Williamson for burrowing into #3 for the Foot, and managing to have 24 NABC beers pouring all at once.

At my other blog, there's a timely update of "Here's to Beer," two non-credit courses from Indiana University Southeast, including registration information.

My weekend Bank Street Brewhouse recomendation: Bonfire of the Valkyries, NABC's Rauch/Schwarzbier (smoked/black), with Chef Josh's Chorizo Hash.

On the topic of food, tonight is the annual FOSSILS Pungent & Funky Appetizer Competition, held in the Prost wing of the Public Hosue at 3312 Plaza Drive in New Albany. Want to know something else? FOSSILS turns 20 this coming September. Where have all the years and liver cells gone?

Finally, a tip for Monday night: Will's and Roger's excellent beer and cheese pairing adventure at Campbell's Gourmet Cottage, Monday, January 11.

Will's and Roger's excellent beer and cheese pairing adventure at Campbell's Gourmet Cottage, Monday, January 11.

On Monday, January 11, Campbell's Gourmet Cottage is pairing the Cheesemonger with the Publican for an educational evening of cheese, beer and banter.

Louisville-area cheese guru Will Eaves will join me at 6:30 p.m. for a nourishing and instructive journey through our respective genres. The cost is $45, and for more details and on-line registration, you can visit the Campbell's web site.

Following are the bare bones, as Will and I outlined last week after a fine evening session of research at the Public House. He's working on extended cheese descriptions, and I'm doing the same for the beers. With luck, I'll have the expanded version ready tomorrow.

EIGHT CHEESE AND BEER PAIRINGS

Delice de Bourgogne
Duvel

Sapori Dolce (goat cheese)
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Cahill’s Farm Porter Aged Cheddar
NABC Bob’s Old 15-B Porter

Widmer Farms Aged Brick
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen

Petit Frere OR Epoisses
NABC Hoptimus

Grand Cru Gruyere Surchoix
Saison Dupont

Chimay Fromage Trappiste
Chimay Premiere (red label)

Moody Blue
Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock

BONUS PAIRING

Red Dragon
Vintage Gueuze Lambic (brand to be named)

Capriole Farms and NABC cheese/beer tasting this Saturday at Bank Street Brewhouse.

There's confirmation that our Capriole Farm/NABC goat cheese & craft beer tasting is a go for Saturday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. We'll set up inside the Bank Street Brewhouse (415 Bank Street in downtown New Albany).

Both Larry and Sam Schad from the Capriole family will be on hand to guide the cheese side of the sampling, and I'll handle the NABC end along with other members of the brew and kitchen teams who are free to take part. The occasion is resolutely informal, and there's no charge.

Note that during our Fringe Fest (Thursday through Saturday this week), we're not offering the normal menu at Bank Street Brewhouse. Rather, Chef Joshua Lehman and Sous Chef Andrew Gunn will be serving a special Fringe Fest menu beginning lunchtime on the 8th, 9th and 10th:

• Pommes Frites deep-fried in duck fat, choice of aoeli or curry sauces
• Confit Leg of Duck with Flageolet Beans
• Green Chili using fresh Pumpkin from the Farmers' Market

Program for tonight's Merchant du Vin beer & cheese pairing in Prost.

Beer & Cheese Pairing from the Merchant du Vin portfolio
Monday, November 19, 2007 – 6:30pm
New Albanian Brewing's Prost Room

Cheeses provided by LOTSA PASTA; presented by Will Eaves.

Merchant Du Vin beers provided by World Class Beverages & the New Albanian Brewing Company; presented by Tisha Dean & Roger Baylor.

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Tasting Notes (from Merchant du Vin)

Ayinger Braü Weisse (Germany)
Delicious lemon-scented wheat beer with yeast. This is an aristocratic beer with a champagne sparkle and a beautifully sustained head. Pale in color, tart in palate—a brut beer. Experience as an aperitif or with your meal.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole Soft Goat Cheese

Zatec Bright Lager (Czech Republic)
Medium-bodied; natural, soft conditioning; hedonistic fresh herbal aroma; a flavor that is the best of fresh-baked bread, fields of grain, and spice, with a solid malt middle. Clean, sparkling, and quintessentially thirst-quenching.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Horseradish Cheddar

Orval Trappist Ale (Belgium)
Sunset-orange color; a fruity and slightly acidic bouquet, firm body, profound hop bitterness, and long, dry finish.
Cheese Pairing: Orca & Capriole’s Sofia

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale (England)
Honey-amber-colored, creamy head of small bubbles, floral aroma and delicious malt flavor with great finesse.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Mild Cheddar

Green’s Gluten-free Quest Tripel Ale (Belgium)
Fairly light body for beer of this strength; spice and herb nose with flavors of candied fruit. Aromatic, long finish. Vegan.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole’s Tomme

Traquair House Ale (Scotland)
Deep reddish-golden in color; full, velvet-like body; medium dry and powerful, with an earthy hint of peat character.
Cheese Pairing: Kenny’s Kentucky Bleu

Lindemans Cassis (Belgium)
Deep reddish-purple color with exceptional aroma, flavor, and complexity. Fuller bodied and soft, while still being refreshing and crisp.
Cheese Pairing: Capriole’s Chocolate Bourbon Torte

Special thanks to the following that made this event possible: Reva Hagedorn, Prost Special Events Coordinator ... and Chefs Andrew McCabe and Josh Lehman for consultation & preparation.

Merchant du Vin beer and cheese tasting Monday, November 19 at NABC.

Thanks to the efforts of Tisha Dean, our diligent local sales representative for World Class Beverages, there’ll be a beer and cheese tasting in NABC’s Prost special events wing on Monday night, November 19.

While Tisha remains in the process of rounding up suitable cheeses (we’re hoping these will be primarily local), the beer lineup, which is drawn entirely from the portfolio of Merchant du Vin, is ready for sampling.

Ayinger Braü Weisse
A classic Bavarian-style wheat ale with the typical balance between fruity esters and clove.

Green’s Quest Tripel Ale
Gluten-free, vegan ale; contract brewed in Belgium by DeProef, and never before tasted by the Publican.

Lindemans Cassis
The least sweet of the Lindemans fruit lambic range retains a hint of funk and a powerful black currant punch.

Orval Trappist Ale
This quirky standard bearer from Belgium’s prettiest Trappist monastery has English antecedents and is dry-hopped, with the suggestion of a sliver of wild yeast adding to the fun.

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale
Tadcaster’s brownish-amber seasonal ritual is a silky and rich ale for cooler weather.

Traquair House Ale
Strong ale along the lines of barley wine, brewed in an old Scottish place and hinting at peat.

Zatec Bright Lager
Textbook hop-accented Czech lager, known everywhere except the Czech Republic as a “pilsner” style.

To defray the cost of the cheeses, we’re asking for a $10 cover, and the starting time is 6:30 p.m. To RSVP, contact me at the e-mail address in my blogger profile.