Winter Warmers!

In Boston this morning it was -8C, the snow that fell two days previous blankets the ground and the wind chill bites at your face like an angry bite-y thing. With a large snow storm predicted for the weekend in New England there is only one thing for it; hunker down, eat some cheese and drink some ale!

    All that's left of new year's resolutions are broken promises, the hangover that you nursed in order to welcome 2016 has long been forgotten and those pounds you promised to shed will help you get through the winter anyway! Today you've managed to battle the elements, get to work on time, be relatively productive for a few hours and you even made your own lunch to take with you! Therefore once you reach the comfort of home you deserve some little treats. At least that's what I tell myself!

    There are lots of amazing combinations that you could choose from for a winter warming snackadoodle but you can't really beat a bit of English Cheshire Cheese with a bottle of Old Brown Dog Ale (or if you really want to push the boat out, Really Old Brown Dog Ale). Being an Englishman, before I moved to America all the Cheshire cheese I had eaten had been white cheese. Since I emigrated to America all the Cheshire cheese I have eaten has been orange cheese - dyed with Annatto. This being said, it doesn't really matter what colour it is; it still tastes fantastic.

    Cheshire has been produced for a long time. Providing I have my facts right, Cheshire (the county not the cheese!) was even mentioned in the Domesday Book which was written during the time of William the Conqueror in 1085! Cheshire used to be full of salt marshes and therefore the cattle who grazed there had a high content of salt in their milk. Apparently the salt caused the cheese to ripen slowly and gave it a crumbly texture.

    It's an absolutely cracking cheese. Whether you bake it, grill it, crumble it in soups or just eat it with an ale (or two) you can guarantee that it will leave your taste buds with a sense of satisfaction! Old Brown Dog Ale is an old style ale produced in New Hampshire by Smuttynose Brewing Company. It is really old brown goodness but beware it can also give you a really old brown hangover too!

Cheese-o-meter rating: 9/10