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September’s Curdbox was designed to say goodbye to summer with a trio of cheeses perfect for pairing with Rosé. This box provided the challenge of selecting three delicious beers, each reminiscent of Rosé in their own way, to bring out the best in these cheese and snack pairings.
First up is the decadently creamy Pavé D’affinois, a rich French cheese with a subtle funk on the rind. I followed the lead from Curdbox by slathering Potlicker Jam’s sweet Peach Cobbler goodness all over a chunky wedge, and then paired that combo with Phase Three Brewing’s Strawberry Chantilly IPA. This Chicago microbrew is a New England-style IPA brewed with vanilla, mosaic hops, lactose sugar, and over 2,000 pounds of strawberry puree. The flavor is two parts strawberries and cream to one part dank citrus/berry hops, a beer that is moderately sweet and incredibly easy to drink. The beer made for a happy middle ground between the creamy cheese and sweet jam, with a rarely used but very compatible combination of strawberry and peach.
Vermont Creamery offers up their goat cheese infused with clover blossom honey, a smooth, wholesome chevre that is slightly sweet and tart, and dangerously easy to devour. Rosemary shortbreads add a savory balance for an incredibly satisfying 
bite. I paired these with Sierra Nevada’s 2019 Estate Farmhouse Ale. This wild ale is brewed with organic wet hops and barley grown on site and yeast spontaneously fermented in the peach orchard at the California brewery, then aged in wine barrels. The result is an incredibly smooth, vinous beer; a fusion of Belgian beer traditions and California wine country that harmonized beautifully with the savory-sweet layers in the food. The Phase Three Strawberry Chantilly IPA also made an exceptional pairing with the rosemary shortbreads.
Lastly, Rhinegeist Bubbles is the beer that both looks and tastes closest to Rosé, and ale made with a combination of apple, peach and cranberry. I paired this beer with sweet and salty hazelnuts and Hay Flower Rebel cheese. Käeserebellen has been making cheese in Austria all the way back to 1860, and this versatile hay-milk cheese is coated in hay flowers. Floral notes are balanced perfectly with the easy drinking sweetness of Bubbles, and caramel-cocoa nuttiness of the candied hazelnuts.
