Dr. Bill’s Belgian Beer & Cheese Tasting

This past November, all the stars were aligned and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to San Diego for the tail end of its beer week.

The gods of fate must have looked fairly upon me over those few days. I was able to meet some key figures in the beer industry as well as taste some extraordinary and rare beers.

It all started when my guardian angel, Taylor Shaw (aka @TheArtofBeer on Twitter), took me to visit Stone Brewing Co. One of the first people I met there was the magnificent Wizard of Stone.

Until that moment, Dr. Bill Sysak was merely a legend in the beer geek folklore. For some time, I had been hearing stories from my fellow beer geeks about Dr. Bill’s beer events and I had even been teased with photos of his illustrious beer cellar.

Once I learned of my trip and itinerary for San Diego Beer Week, I made it a mission and a priority to stalk down –errr– seek out Dr. Bill. And as it turns out, Dr. Bill was not hard to find. In fact, his gregarious and charming presence was virtually hard to miss. And being the crazy extrovert that I am, I immediately approached Bill and introduced myself.

For those of you who have never heard of Dr. Bill, I suppose it is only proper of me to give you a more formal introduction. Dr. Bill’s “real” name is William Sysak.

In March of 2009, Dr. Bill Sysak took over as Beverage Coordinator of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens. But even before he joined the team at Stone Brewing Co., Dr. Bill Sysak was well known in the beer industry for his elaborate in-home beer tasting events and his annual beer events during the Great American Beer Festival.

Having been an avid collector for over 20 years, Dr. Bill boasts a collection of over 1,000 beers. Some of his bottles are 30 and even 40 years old. He keeps all of his beers temperature regulated in various areas of his house.

In my opinion, Dr. Bill is a very good looking and charismatic gentleman. He is the epitome of a craft beer evangelist. I’ve never met someone more eager and willing to share his knowledge and passion for craft beer with the world.

My fondness for Dr. Bill must have struck a positive chord, as he took to me quite well. In fact, we hit it off so well that he offered to get me, and my two companions, Taylor Shaw & PJ Hoberman, into his sold out Belgian Beer & Cheese Tasting on the final day of San Diego Beer Week. Naturally, the offer was too good to refuse and we accepted right away. (But not without a big kiss)

As fate would have it, we ran into Dr. Bill every day during my visit to San Diego. But then again, we did visit Stone Brewing Co. everyday. So it was hard not to see him.

We arrived a few minutes early for the tasting, so we bellied up to the bar for a round of Stone beers. My choice was the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale — a vigorously hopped Double BLACK IPA, which has definitely earned its right in my top 5 favorite Stone beers ever brewed.

Before we could even gulp down a few sips of our beers, we were summoned by Dr. Bill to the second story of Stone World Bistro & Gardens for the special Belgian Beer & Cheese Tasting event.

Much to my surprise (and utter delight), every seat was assigned with a name tag. And my name tag just happened to be to the left of … wait for it, wait for it … the one & only Dr. Bill. I was already honored to have received an invite to the sold out event. But, at this moment, I became humbled by the opportunity to sit next to Dr. Bill during one of his tastings.

But enough of my Dr. Bill infactuation, how about we talk about the beer and cheese?

PAIRING # 1

TRIPEL KARMELIET & CHIMAY TRAPPISTE CHEESE  washed in BEER

• BEER APPEARANCE: Hazy, honey gold color with a fluffy white head
• BEER AROMA: Heavy fruity esters of banana and hints of clove, hay & pale malts
• BEER TASTE: Candy sugar, sweet malts, citrus (lemony)
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Smooth & creamy with medium carbonation and very low alcohol heat
• CHEESE: Light and creamy with a nice “bite” to it. The rind is slightly nutty and bitter.
• OVERALL PAIRING: The malt and the sugar balance the “bite” in the cheese & the bitter nuttiness of the rind. The cheese does a nice job of bringing out the fruity, citrus notes of the beer.

PAIRING # 2

TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 6 & ROCHEFORT with OUSESANT SEAWEED CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Hazy brown with chunks of yeast sediment and a light fluffy white head
• BEER AROMA: Caramel, candy sugar, fruity esters, light toast
• BEER TASTE: Sweet toasted caramel & brown sugar
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Light to medium in body, creamy mouthfeel with moderate carbonation
• CHEESE: Briny & sharp with noticeable saltiness from the seaweed. Possesses a slight spinach & green vegetable quality.
• OVERALL PAIRING: The sharpness and brininess from the cheese is balanced nicely by the sweet malts of the beers. Neither one over powers the other.

PAIRING # 3

ORVAL TRAPPIST ALE & CHIMAY GRAND CRU CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Hazy amber, gold color with large fluffy white head
• BEER AROMA: Candy sugar, pale malts, earthy brett (horse blanket, barnyard) & spicy hops
• BEER TASTE: Spicy, earthy, slight bitterness & astringency, hints of candy sugar & a slight sourness
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied, creamy & smooth with a dry finish
• CHEESE: Super creamy with a mild barnyard funk. Rind has a pleasant nuttiness to it.
• OVERALL PAIRING: The funk in the cheese compliments the funk in the beer. Neither is “too funky” for the other. Both MATCH each other in texture and in body — i.e.: both have a creamy mouthfeel, long lasting flavor and are slightly bitter and funky.

PAIRING # 4

TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 8 & PASSENDALE CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Very cloudy, medium brown color with a thin white head. Noticeable chunks of yeast in the glass.
• BEER AROMA: Brown sugar, caramel malts, toasted nuts & fruity esters
• BEER TASTE: Rich sweet caramel & nuts, fruity with hints of figs, raisins & brown sugar
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied, slightly viscous with noticeable heat from alcohol
• CHEESE: Semi-hard, bitter & VERY sharp. The briny rind appears more mild than the cheese.
• OVERALL PAIRING: The sharp bite from the cheese helps to cut the malty, viscous body of the beer. The beer becomes more nutty & less sugary with every bite of the cheese. The flavors of the cheese linger longer than the beer.

PAIRING # 5

WESTMALLE DUBEEL & VAL DIEU ABBEY BOUQUET des MOINES CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Very cloudy, medium brown color with a thin, creamy off-white head. Chunks from yeast are apparent.
• BEER AROMA: Lots of fruity esters, raisins, caramel, banana & clove yeast aroma
• BEER TASTE: Rich caramel & toasted malts with a concentrated raisin and fig flavor, reminiscent of chocolate chip cookie dough
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied, creamy & smooth
• CHEESE: Overwhelmingly funky, lots of sweet hay & barnyard funk, manure — the “whole barnyard experience”
• OVERALL PAIRING: The cheese is overwhelmingly potent. The barnyard smell of the cheese almost entirely consumes the nose. Yet, the heavy texture of the beer and the richness of the malt help to make the cheese more tolerable. Overall though, this cheese completely through everyone for a loop.

PAIRING # 6

St. Bernardus ABT 12 & AFFLIGEM CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Very cloudy — cannot see thought it at all. Medium brown color with a thin white head that contains very tiny bubbles.
• BEER AROMA: Apple pie, lots of spices (cloves & cinnamon), hints of brown sugar & fruity esters
• BEER TASTE: Extremely figgy, slightly tart and moderately nutty
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Medium bodied, well-carbonated and, despite the high alcohol content, not very viscous
• CHEESE: Very creamy, slightly bitter. EXTREMELY pleasant after the last cheese.
• OVERALL PAIRING: Sharpeness of the cheese is cut but the sweet nuttiness of the beer. Both have a creamy mouthfeel and medium body. Very well-paired.

PAIRING # 7

TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 10 & MAREDSOUS ABBEY CHEESE

• BEER APPEARANCE: Very dark brown color and extremely cloudy. Heavy amounts of yeast in suspension.
• BEER AROMA: Apple pie, caramel malts … Taylor says it is reminiscent of her mothers homemade apple pie with toffee cream sauce drizzled on top.
• BEER TASTE: Fruity & sweet with lots of spice.
• BEER MOUTHFEEL: Very viscous, thick, rich & heavy with a noticeable warmth from the high alcohol content.
• CHEESE: Hard cheese, mild compared to the rest of the cheeses from the day. Mild rind with slight nuttiness.
• OVERALL PAIRING: The high gravity of the content definitely overpowered the mildness of the cheese. Which, at this point, was totally OKAY BY ME, since this beer is absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t have wanted the cheese to interfere with its flavor anyways.

Overall, the pairings were perfect and the line-up was extremely impressive. The best part of the entire event was Dr. Bill’s amazing story telling ability. Instead of lecturing to us (and boring us) about the science behind each beer style and cheese, Dr. Bill provided compelling and interesting information about each of the breweries and cheese makers.

It wasn’t until the very end of the event that Dr. Bill revealed to us that there were “beer celebrities” in attendance. Three generation of male Norgroves from the Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg, CA were there (although, the youngest was obviously underage).

On a final note, the afternoon could not have been more perfect. I got to enjoy a fantastic beer & cheese experience with two of my best of friends in the entire world as well as have the honor of being in the presence of Dr. Bill. This afternoon will be an afternoon that I shall never forget!

Special Thanks to: Taylor Shaw, Dr. Bill & Stone Brewing Company! Cheers!