Sunny day, time for a beer and cheese pairing!

So we picked up two brews recently, we’d been meaning to try them for a while and to be fair we hadn’t got round to it with all the summer madness. The sun was shining across Birmingham… believe it or not! So we decided to go for a bike ride and a picnic, but instead of doing the standard ham rolls, we decided to pick two cheeses to pair with our brews...[su_row][su_column size="1/2"][/su_column] [su_column size="1/2"]Fixed wheel — Ride like you stole it 8.5% abv (Imperial IPA), paired with Stilton.This one was a no brainer for me, a must try as an avid beer lover and biker. Now when it comes to beer, I do not think I’ve ever seen a cooler label, it makes you stop and admire the artwork… Just for a second at least![/su_column][/su_row]Appearance: Dark amber, slightly cloudy… although I had been riding pretty heavy, so perhaps it’s not usually cloudy when it’s settled. Aroma: Tropical, slightly hoppy, pine underlay and I think that I was getting a hint of spice in there too. Flavour: Sweet, malty flavour, slightly boozy fruitiness with a bitter hoppy, pine finish and hint of spice. This is quite strong, kind of gives you that grin after each sip. So after the standard protocol… nibble, sip, nibble, sip, our verdict was that as this is quite a bold brew, it matched up to the bold bitterness of the cheese to make it smoother, allowing you taste the underlaying flavour of the cheese without being overpowered by the bitterness.[su_row][su_column size="1/2"][/su_column] [su_column size="1/2"]Sadlers Hop Bomb 5.0% abv (American—Style Pale Ale), paired with Irish Mature CheddarAppearance: Light/ pale golden. Aroma: Floral, hoppy, fresh cut grass, hints of tropical fruit, with a sweet, fruity/ boozy backdrop. Flavour: Sweet, hoppy flavour with a bitter fruitcake finish, quite dry, very hoppy, but definitely light and refreshing! We matched a dry cheddar to this.[/su_column][/su_row]One thing that the beer did was make the cheese smoother/ less dry, while bringing out the sweetness. The hoppyness of this brew takes off the sharp edge of the cheddar and the cheddar took the bitterness off the beer to make it bolder flavour-wise. Definitely a great collab!So there you go, beer and cheese working together in perfect unison, so why not try it for yourself and see what you think!