Ned Palmer – Cheese and Beer

 

Working at a brewery people often ask “Surely this is the perfect job” and when events like this happen they are pretty close.

Ned Palmer hosted his cheese and beer pairing session at the brewery for ‘London Beer City’. What an evening! Walking out of the brewery doors and under the marquee, he had set up long table; each seat facing a mound of sourdough, a cheese selection that would put your Gran’s christmas setup to shame (Sorry Gran) and our beers for the pairing. I apologised for the lack of bunting, prepared myself for night of serving beers and possibly sneaking a few crumbs of cheese. After delivering the first round of beers I was ordered to take a seat – I’m not a man to argue.

Ned had prepared 6 cheeses to pair with our 5 beers. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as I had never been to an event like this – I conjured the image of someone telling me exactly what I should taste almost as if reading from a text book. Instead, he held a conversation. He talked about each cheese in turn, telling us its history, its style and recalled quips from the makers of the cheese we were trying. As we moved around the cheese board, we were prompted to try the beers and talk through what flavours worked and what didn’t. It was at these times you could really see his passion and knowledge flowing through.

As with any good evening, we failed to notice that the sun had set and we had overrun by an hour. No complaints were heard. We voted for our favourite pairing (Beatnik and Stichelton for those interested) and everyone was on there way.

All that was left was for me to “clear up” the leftover cheese, bread and beers.

I can’t recommend Ned Palmer’s Cheese sessions enough; we will definitely be having him back.

– Mike