Colorado Cheesemakers

Colorado Cheesemakers

COLORADO HAS A GREAT TRADITION OF ARTISAN CRAFTSMEN, INCLUDING A SMALL BUT ROBUST COLLECTION OF CHEESEMAKERS. WE SPOKE TO A FEW PRODUCERS ABOUT THEIR WARES.

MOUCO CHEESE, FORT COLLINS

Founded in 2001 by Germanborn Birgit Halbreiter and Robert Poland with the help of Halbreiter’s father, a master cheesemaker no less, MouCo (which is a portmanteau of mountains and Colorado but pronounced Moo-Co) produces a range of cow’s milk cheeses from traditional Camembert to smearripened and ash-cured cheeses.

CHEESES Traditional Camembert A soft, creamy center surrounded by a nutty, bloomy rind. Good served with a preserve or fruit. Pair with IPAs or beers with fruit notes. Rosés and mediumbodied red wines also work.

ColoRouge A unique, creamy cheese with the savory and aromatic characteristics of a washedrind wheel. This one has the potential to get stinky. Pair with a saison, pilsner or even a sparkling wine.

Ashley A soft-ripened wheel dusted cheese with edible vegetable ash that creates a silky, smooth and gooey cheese. Pair it with a nutty brown beer, a merlot or even a malbec.

Truffello A soft-ripened Camembert sprinkled with black truffles. Luxurious and decadent, Truffello is a creamy and earthy cheese. Pair it with mead, honey beer or sweeter wines.

PepBert A Camembert that has citrus notes along with a hint of peppercorn which gives a little spice and heat. Pair it with an IPA, cabernet or pinot noir.

MouCo is also working on a new cheese called Fetish, which is currently in the testing phase.

HAYSTACK, LONGMONT

Founded by Jim Schott in 1989, Haystack Mountain (which was named after a landmark near his dairy) has gone from strength to strength. Currently producing a range of raw and pasteurized goat and cow cheeses, Haystack Mountain sources milk from local dairies as well as a goat dairy that is part of a program that allows inmates from a local prison to work on the farm. All of Haystack’s cheeses are free of additives and preservatives.

CHEESE Boulder Chèvre With a citrus and grass flavor and a firm, creamy texture this cheese is ideal for crumbling on everything from salads to pasta. Also available coated with herbs de Provence or cracked pepper as well as versions that are blended with roasted green chiles and dill and garlic. Pair with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, a rosé, or even a lager.

A Cheese Named Sue Raw goat milk cheese made with Oskar Blues Brewery’s G’Knight Imperial Red IPA. It is semi-firm with hop, barnyard and buttered toast notes. Probably pairs well with Oskar Blues Brewery’s G’Knight Imperial Red IPA.

Camembert Made in the style of the classic cow’s milk cheese of Normandy, Camembert grows softer, creamier and more earthy with age. A great cheese for baking. Pair with light red wines such as Beaujolais or American pale ales.

Gold Hill Similar to their Queso de Mano (a natural rind Garrotxa style-cheese) but made with pasteurized goat milk and additional cultures to bring out a balanced buttery and tangy aroma. It is aged for six to twelve months to develop. Gold Hill won a first place award at the American Cheese Society contest and won a Super Gold at the 2017-18 World Cheese Awards in London where it was named the Best American Cheese. Pair with stronger red wines and IPAs.

JUMPIN’ GOOD GOAT DAIRY, BUENA VISTA

Founded by Dawn Jump in 2002, Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy moved to Buena Vista 10 years ago.

The dairy has a store where guests can interact with the cheese-making process, try their hand at milking and take a farm tour.

Cheeses on offer include First Snow, a French-style goat cheese dusted with poplar ash; Ruby Mountain, a merlot-soaked cheddar that starts smooth and creamy but has a sharp bite that ultimately lingers on the palate; and Buena Vista Bleu, a creamy blue goat cheese.

FRUITION, LARKSPUR

Founded by a chef that was in search of a high-quality sheep cheese, Fruition started making cheese in 2010. Armed with knowledge picked up at the Dairy Sheep Association of North America’s annual symposium, the small team has since worked hard to try to perfect five cheeses.

The five cheeses are sheepskyr, an Icelandic-style yogurt inspired cheese with a silky texture; ricotta, which has a large, fluffy soft curd; cacio pecora, a raw milk cheese with nutty, floral and grassy notes; shepherd’s halo, a creamy cheese with mild acidity; and the classic Greek cheese, feta.

ROCKIN W CHEESE, OLATHE

Rocking W makes their cheese using milk from their six generation familyrun dairy in Olathe. With nearly 30 kinds of cheese on offer, Rocking W is nothing if not prolific.

Rocking W produces many standard cheeses including baby Swiss, asiago and pepper jack, but they also produce a good number of interesting blends including a portobella leek jack, a cucumber and dill jack and their most recent creation, a smoked ghost pepper jack.

MOON HILL DAIRY, STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

John Weibel started making cheese back in 2014. Starting out with ricotta, Moon Hill in Steamboat Springs now produces a good selection of cheeses including a brie-style cheese called Alpenbert; a soft-ripened exterior blue called River Runs Blue; and Pas de Chevre, which is technically a fromage blanc but has the features of chevre. Hard cheeses include: Higby, a coffee milk stout-washed Tomme-style cheese; and Joe, a California-style dry jack rubbed in cayenne, coffee and cocoa.

RECIPE IDEAS

FONDUE The classic ski town cheese preparation, the dish of melted cheese is served in a communal pot over a candle and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using longstemmed forks.

TRY Any Monterey Jack variations or swiss for a more classic version

WELSH RAREBIT Originally known as Welsh rabbit, this dish is a cheese sauce that is either poured over toasted bread or placed onto bread and grilled. Said to have originated at a time when meat was scarce in Wales, a good quality cheese on offer was the replacement.

TRY Jumping Good Goat’s Ruby Mountain

RACLETTE The Swiss dish based on heating the raclette cheese and scraping the melted part on to bread is a time-honored tradition said to have been started by cow herders who would place the cheese next to a campfire to soften.

TRY Rocking W asiago

SOUFFLÉ Created in 18th century France (from the French verb souffler which means to breathe), versions of this classic French egg dish can be made with any number of different cheeses.

TRY Sheep cheese from Fruition