An Afternoon with Stone Brewing

We were invited to participate in a pair of classes up at Stone Brewing World Bistro this past Sunday and it was a great time.

Our friend Marnie Clarke (who is planning to open her own cheese shop up in LA County later this year) joined us for the classes and also added a great dimension of her own. She recently spent time making cheese at Winchester Cheese Co. up near Temecula and also hails from an extensive line of dairy folk – her grandfather founded Alta Dena Dairy – so her insights on the process of making of cheese were a great addition.

Stone’s Education Director Ken Foster and our favorite cheese monger George Palmer were miked up and gave introductions to each of the six tasty flights. The groups were raucous and made for a grand time. The first class was joined by the ‘Arrogant Bastard’ himself, Stone founder Greg Koch, who had some nice words to share and took a few snaps he then tweeted to his massive group of Twitter followers. Always spreading the love!

With the beautiful backdrop of Stone’s lush gardens, the setting was almost as perfect as the menu! Here’s what you missed…

1) Stone Sawyer’s Triple paired with Winchester Cumin Gouda
2) Stone Pale Ale paired with Bellwether Carmody
3) Stone IPA paired with Piave Vecchio
4) Stone Smoked Porter paired with Pecorino Nocino
5) Arrogant Bastard Ale paired with Purple Haze Stuffed Peppadew
6) Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale paired with Noord Hollander

Malheur & Cheese Tasting with O'Brien's Pub

We are thrilled to join our friends from O'Brien's Pub for a very exclusive event featuring a lineup of incredible beers from Belgium's Malheur Brewery. If you've attended a few of our beer and cheese classes with O'Brien's, then chances are, you've sampled at least one of these rare, bottle-conditioned brews. As it happens. O'Brien's is the #1 Malheur account in the western US and as such owner Tom Nickel has been able to pull together an unprecedented lineup of 5 distinct Malheur brews for this event including the rare Malheur 6, as well as the 10, 12, and the champagne-style Brut, and Dark Brut. The brews will be paired with an equally exceptional menu of fine artisan cheeses from Taste. Add the lively and informative discussion lead by Tom and Taste cheese monger George Palmer and you have an incredible evening in store. Don't miss out - we expect this to sell out quickly! Sign up at either O'Brien's or Taste.

Malheur & Cheese Tasting $40
Sunday, July 19th, 6:30pm
***Second Class Just Added!***
Sunday, July 26th, 6:30pm
O'Brien's Pub
4646 Convoy Road, San Diego

New Cheese Classes @Taste!

Cheese classes at Taste are a lot of fun - hopefully as much fun for the students as they are for us! We've met some great new folks at our recent classes and look forward to seeing them - and you - at an upcoming class or two. And we've even given a bit of incentive to get folks to enroll before the end of April. Sign up for either the May 12th or June 3rd classes before April 30th and save $5 off the enrollment fee. Enjoy a great evening of cheese and wine for just $40!

In addition to the great lineup of classes listed below, we've been invited to participate in a Spirits & Cheese pairing on May 6th at Wine Vault & Bistro and to join our friends up at Stone World Bistro & Gardens in a pair of Beer & Cheese classes on June 14th. Check their respective websites for details and enrollment information and be sure to let them know we sent you!

And without further ado, here's the schedule for Taste classes over the next couple months:

Springtime Beer & Cheese
w/O’Brien’s Pub

**3rd Class Just Added!**

Sunday, May 3rd, 6:30pm

@ O’Brien’s Pub

$40

Once again we have sold out of the two scheduled sessions of our biannual Beer & Cheese classes with our friends Tom and Lindsey Nickel from O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa. And by popular demand, we have added a 3rd and final class to be held at O’Brien’s on Sunday, May 3rd. If you thought you missed out, think again! But not for too long – this class is also filling fast. To enroll, stop by Taste or O’Brien’s or call us at (619) 683-2306. If you miss out this time, you’ll have to wait until fall!

Wines for the Blues**

Tuesday, May 12th, 6:30pm

$45 (**$40 if you enroll by 4/30)

At Taste, we love the blues. From sweet Gorgonzola Dolce, to fruity Cashel Blue, to decadent Roquefort Carles - if it's blue, we're a fan. And likewise, we love wines. Pretty much any style has a place at our table. And so we decided to pull together a class that marries 2 of our favorite things...hence 'Wines for the Blues'. From sparkling wines to lush whites to fruity reds and luscious ports, we'll introduce you to some incredible blues to pair with your favorite wines. We'll give 'singing the blues' a whole new definition!

Whites & Knights**

w/Rey Knight of Knight Salumi Co.

Wednesday, June 3rd, 6:30pm

$45 (**$40 if you enroll by 4/30)

We've been loving the incredible meats from San Diego's Knight Salumi Co., and by all accounts, so have our customers - it's been tough to keep stocked up! So we've invited the producer himself - Rey Knight - to join us for a fun class where we'll match his salumi with tasty white wines and artisan cheeses. This class is definitely non-vegetarian! Meat eaters rejoice...and plan to join us for a tasty tour of San Diego's finest salumi!

DIY Taste Cheese & Wine Class!

Call Taste to schedule a date!

From $45 per person (Minimum 6 guests / Maximum 10 guests)

What's that you say? Missed out on one of our great Cheese101@ Taste classes? Well then, let us help you create an event just for you and a few friends! DIY Taste Cheese & Wine Classes are custom events we create with you. Just pull together a group of 6-10 people, pick a theme (or call for suggestions), and schedule a date. Your group will have a private, in-shop event, hosted by Taste cheese mongers George and Mary Palmer. Prices start at just $45 per person for cheese and wine classes! Call or email Taste for more information.

Spring’s here…must be time for Cheese & Beer!

This past Wednesday we held the first of our springtime beer and cheese pairings – and our first class with our friends from Hamilton’s Tavern and Green Flash Brewing. It was an amazing class and we learned a lot about how San Diego’s favorite style – hopped up IPA – was developed, while sampling through the full lineup of its predecessors. It was great to learn about it from the perspective of Hamilton’s proprietor Scot Blair, a home brewer and all around beer geek, as well as from GFB’s master brewer Chuck Silva. We still have a few of the handouts left from the class and if you’re interested in obtaining a copy, just send an email to mary@tastecheese.com, or stop in and ask for one.

And looking ahead, next month we have our Springtime Beer & Cheese Pairings with O’Brien’s Pub. We’ve been collaborating with our friends Tom and Lindsey Nickel, owners of O’Brien’s, for more than 3 years and this round marks the 7th in our ongoing series. As always, we’ll hold one class at Taste and another at O’Brien’s. They always seem to fill up quickly – probably because they’re so much fun. If you’ve wanted to learn about beer and/or cheese, then these classes are definitely the way to go. Tom is one of the key players in San Diego’s burgeoning craft beer scene and O’Brien’s was recently voted one of the top 10 places for beer in the US. He’s joined by our favorite cheese monger George Palmer, and together, they inspire and entertain the class with their passion and knowledge for artisan cheese and craft beer.

SPRINGTIME BEER & CHEESE PAIRINGS w/O’BRIEN’S PUB
Wednesday April 22nd, 7pm @ Taste (only 10 seats left)
Sunday April 26th, 6:30pm @ O’Brien’s Pub (only 22 seats left)
$40.00

**Early Enrollment Special Offer**
Sign up for either the 4/22 or 4/26 class before 3/31 and your name will be entered into a drawing to help us select the menu of pairings for the class. Think you’re up to the task? Then sign up soon or you’ll miss out.

To enroll, send an email to cheese101@tastecheese.com, call the shop at (619) 683-2306 or visit Taste.

Preview of "The History of IPA" Class 3/24

Cheese Selection & 2 of the Featured Beers

Next week we're excited about hosting our first event with Scot Blair of San Diego beer mecca Hamilton's Tavern, and Chuck Silva, award-winning brewer from Green Flash Brewing Co. The class is called "The History of IPA" and I think you'll see from the pairings we have planned, it's a pretty extensive history and an ambitious menu.

Last Thursday we met with Scot and Hamilton's general manager Dennis Borlek to set the menu. And believe me, it was no small task given the intense flavors of the beers!

Some of the beers we considered

After tasting and debating pairings for a couple hours, we were all quite pleased with the 8 (yes, that is a lot!) pairings we selected for the class:

Flight One - English Pale Ale
Bass Pale Ale w/Cave-aged Gruyere
St. Peter’s Organic Ale w/4-mo Mahon

Flight Two - English India Pale Ale
Bellhaven Twisted Thistle w/Valdeon Blue
Meantime IPA w/Old Quebec 4yr Vintage Cheddar

Flight Three - American India Pale Ale
Anchor Liberty Ale w/Reblechon
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale w/Fiscalini 18-mo Cheddar

Flight Four - A New Generation
Green Flash West Coast IPA w/Purple Haze Stuffed Peppadew
Green Flash Imperial IPA w/Winchester Cumin Gouda

There are still a few seats left for this class, but it will fill up. If you're interested in attending, don't delay, call the shop (619-683-2306) today!

Taste Presents...
"The History of IPA"
w/Hamilton's Tavern & Green Flash Brewing Co.
Tuesday March 24th 6:30pm
@ Taste Artisan Cheese & Gourmet Shop
$40

We hope to see you there!