Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a brewer,
Who sat down beside her
And took all her whey away.
That’s how the Mother Goose nursery rhyme might have gone if the folks at Belvoir Brewery in England’s Old Dalby. Leicestershire area had been around when she wrote that one. What Belvoir has done is taken the blue Stilton cheese and made a beer with it. They infused Stilton whey by mixing 25% whey with 75% fresh wort and then fermented it normally, producing a 4.2% a.b.v. chestnut-colored beer. Happily, the beer itself is not blue, just the name.
According to a BBC article:
Nigel White, secretary of the Stilton Cheesemakers Association, said: “People often think of Stilton as a cheese just for Christmas and forget how versatile it is.
“Traditionally the whey from cheese making would have been fed to pigs. We wondered if it could be used for other purposes and Belvoir Brewery has now made a new beer.”
Belvoir’s website says they’re currently out of the Stilton beer, but that new beer should be available shortly. I know cheese and beer together as a pairing is miraculously good, but premixed together? I’m game, certainly and most reports claim that it’s better than it sounds, with “delicate” flavors and “a smooth, creamy texture.”
A short BBC video also reveals there are no plans to brew a cheddar beer or a Wensleydale beer, which is a shame to my Monty Python-loving ears and brought their hilarious cheese shop skit rushing back. I guess cheddar’s just not popular ’round those parts.
Customer (John Cleese): You…do *have* some cheese, don’t you?
Owner (Michael Palin): (brightly) Of course, sir. It’s a cheese shop, sir. We’ve got–
Customer: No no… don’t tell me. I’m keen to guess.
Owner: Fair enough.
Customer: Uuuuuh, Wensleydale.
Owner: Yes?
Customer: Ah, well, I’ll have some of that!
Owner: Oh! I thought you were talking to me, sir. Mister Wensleydale, that’s my name.
And a little later in the skit:
Customer: (pause) Aah, how about Cheddar?
Owner: Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir.
Customer: Not much ca– it’s the single most popular cheese in the world!
Owner: Not ’round here, sir.
But see it for yourself: