This Week's Tasting: October 2, 2017

Every week at Dairymaids we select six cheeses to include in our free cheese tasting. Whenever we are open, we are tasting cheese. We stock over 150 cheeses, so if these 6 don’t please you, we will find you the cheeses that do.

This week we're showcasing a special batch of the Cellars at Jasper Hill's washed rind cheese, Willoughby. Willoughby is a washed-rind version of Jasper Hill's double cream brie, Moses Sleeper. The washing process gives the mild, creamy brie some subtle nutty and meaty notes. In this particular batch, the brine is spiked with Saint Arnold's Raspberry AF.

Cana de Oveja is an original, sheep's milk cheese from cheesemaker Lorenzo Abellan in the Murcia region of Spain. Similar to a French Bucheron, the cheese is soft-riped and aged for just a few weeks. It is buttery is flavor, with a gooey, creamy layer beneath its white bloomy rind.

Tomme de Hood is a natural-rinded cheese from the Eagle Mountain dairy in Lapin, Texas. As per French tradition, the tomme is named for the region where it is made: Hood County. Molded in a basket shape, Tomme de Hood is buttery and smooth with tangy, mushroomy flavors.

A husband and wife team, Marieke and Rolf moved to Wisconsin to start a small dairy farm like the ones they grew up on in Holland. Marieke trained with Dutch cheesemakers to make true farmhouse gouda. Her first batches were released in 2006, and started winning awards in 2007. It's a testament to their high quality milk that Marieke is able to get such robust flavor from her cheeses. She uses only raw milk, and ages her Overjarige Gouda on Dutch wooden shelves within their cellar. This special batch is aged over 24 months.

Roccia del Piave, meaning "rock" in Italian is a cow's milk cheese from Veneto, Italy. The cheese gets its name from the aging process, which is styled after an old practice used by farmers in the region. To prevent outlaws from stealing their wheels of cheese, they would hide the wheels in rocky cavities formed by the flooding of the Piave River. Roccia is made with cow's milk, aged 8 months, and has a crumbly texture with a clean, yet intense, flavor.

Richly colored with annatto and cave aged to maturity, Red Rock has a mild flavor and firm texture. It is an American-style cheddar made by Roelli Cheese in Wisconsin and has a fuzzy natural rind and slight blue veining.

This week we're sampling Raspberry AF, a frutied Berliner Weisse from the Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston. The beer is light-bodied with upfront notes of raspberry and a dry, tart finish. 

Our pairing of the week is a Pear Preserve from American Spoon in Michigan.