Ben Franklin once said, “Beer is proof that God exists.” We agree. And although wine aficionados swear that the grape is the natural companion to cheese, beer offers strong competition. According to Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery in New York, and Lucy Saunders, creator of the website www.beercook.com, here are some excellent pairings:
 
Young, tangy goat cheeses: Match with wheat beers (light bodied, snappy and refreshing). For more contrast, try darker beers with raisin notes, such as Belgian-style brown ales or weizenbocks (weissbocks).
 
Brie, Camembert or other bloomy-rind cheeses: Match with Belgian Trappist and abbey beers, such as Chimay, or with maibocks and strong golden lagers.

Taleggio, Red Hawk, Munster or other washed-rind cheeses: These pungent cheeses go well with the yeasty character of a brown ale or abbey-style ale refermented in the bottle.

Gruyère, Comté and Pleasant Ridge Reserve and other nutty alpine cheese: Go with powerful, high-alcohol English barley wines or amber ales.

Brillat-Savarin or other triple-crème cheeses: A good match is beer with a spicy aromatic, such as a saison-style beer, sometimes called farmhouse ale.

Blue Cheese: An imperial stout with its big, chocolatey character can flatter Stilton, or try strong dark ales as other partners. -Denise Shoukas

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