01/31/11- Dubliner Cheese with Stout

The third meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on the 31st of January, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. Visiting member was Old Greg of Cullowhee.

The cheese for this meeting was a Dubliner cheese with stout. It was served in 4 different varieties: room temp with Ritz, cold with apples, sliced with sourdough bread, and shredded and melted on Nachos. Jesse tried it with dark Godiva chocolate as a wild card.

Moobs- Overall it was a very strong, stout cheese. The cracker made it very palatable. The apple not as good, a little harder that I liked. The nachos were the best. The sourdough bread amplified the bitterness of the cheese and I didn't finish it.

Scott- It was good, my favorite so far. I liked it by itself best, but was pretty strong. On the nachos second. Didn't care for it with the apple. The bread was alright, but it masked the flavor of the cheese.

Jesse- The harder the better. I was freaked out by the bitterness and I started hunting for the stout flavor. The warm cheese texture threw me off a bit, but I liked the flavor. With the apple it tasted better than by itself, the stout flavor complimented the sweetness of the apples. The nachos were very good. The saltiness of the cheese and the greasiness of the cheese was a good combination. The dark chocolate and the salty cheese tasted good. The rich flavor of the chocolate opened new flavors in the cheese. Overall I would it eat it again, if it wasn't for the price.

Tony- It was a decent cheese that reminded me of a strong provolone. It went well with the Ritz cracker, I liked the texture of it at room temperature. With apples, the sweetness unlocked a whole new flavor with it, but the coldness made it a bit too hard. The nachos were alright, but there wasn't enough cheese on them. The sourdough bread was going stale and tasted gross, did not finish.

Old Greg- My initial impression with the warm cheese was that it was very soft and creamy. The headiness of the stout was very smoky, which I enjoyed and it went well with the Ritz. I enjoyed it with the apples as much as I did with the crackers. With the chips it was absolutely delicious and it seemed like it was created to be part of a nacho dish. After the oils had been separated from the rest of the cheese it made it almost a new cheese altogether. The bread brought out the bitterness and it was the only flavor that really stood out.

Susie the cat- Didn't like it.

The International Cheese Club will meet again next week. Cheese tba.

01/23/2011- Blue Marble Jack

The second meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on January 23, 2011, a Sunday, at 8:00 in the evening. Moobs selected the cheese for this week's meeting, a BlueMarble Jack (combination of blue cheese and monterey jack) and took the liberty to prepare it in several varities. First up was the standard slice with Ritz crackers, followed by shredded on blue tortilla nachos, and concluded in a grilled form on sourdough bread. Members present were: Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and newest member, James.

Opinions:
Moobs- The cheese by itself was smooth and creamy with sharp, metallic aftertaste. The cracker helped for a moment, but the aftertaste remained. The nachos worked the most as far as getting rid of the aftertaste. The sandwich was alright, but once again the aftertaste was just overpowering, but the cheese melted nice. Jesse can have the rest of it. Wouldn't buy it again.

Scott- It was alright, but I probably wouldn't have it again or choose to eat it. The moldy cheese aftertaste was something I'm not crazy about.

Jesse- I normally don't like creamy cheese at all, I'm a big creamaphobe. It brought to mind an evergreen wreath Christmas tree aftertaste. After contemplation I've narrowed it down to a dark olive aftertaste. I liked the cheese and when it was on the nachos it added a depth that made it work. By mistake there was a little bit of butter on the cheese and it revealed to me that it cut out the aftertaste.

James- I liked it. I think the jack did a good job of cutting the blue cheese and not make it overpowering. It was best on the nachos, maybe because it was used sparsely. Would definitely eat it again.

Tony- A nice combination that works good in small doses. Worked well on the nachos and grilled in sandwich form. The aftertaste that is typical of blue cheese wasn't nearly as strong as it could be. I feel like Moobs paid too much for it.

Susie the cat- Sniffed it and ate it. Enjoyed it.

The next meeting will happen in a week.

01/14/2001- First Meeting of the ICC (Babybel)

At 9:15 the first meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced. It was decided by our founder, Moobs, that the first cheese of the club would be Babybel original. It would be sampled with fresh Ritz crackers.

Members Susie the cat, Moobs, Scott, Tony, Jesse, and Brennan were present along with visiting member Liz. Everyone was dealt a single serving of Babybel. The Ritz were optional.

Reviews:

Moobs- I thought it was good. Very creamy, reminds me a lot of mozzarella. The crackers are always nice. For the price it's a good deal (for the fancier cheeses).

Brennan- Enjoyed the wrapper, it reminded me of a Christmas present. It's f**kin' cheese man, it taste better than brie.

Jesse- It tasted like a sour mozzarella and was too creamy. Not sure why it was packed in a hard plastic. (Declined the cracker option)

Scott- It was alright. Kind of sweet with a bitter bite. Also reminds me of mozzarella. Like it better with Ritz.

Tony- A nice creaminess with a bit a subdued tangy flavor. The Ritz were superb and fresh, adding a proper crunchy texture and a nice saltiness.

Liz- Soft and squishy and delicious. I liked the added crunch and salt of the Ritz.

Susie the cat- (ate all of the cheese)

It was decided this was a successful meeting and look forward to our next meeting.