Brewery, creamery team up to create blue cheese beer

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A brewery and a creamery teamed up in Oregon to create a product they admit might inspire some "skepticism" -- blue cheese beer.

Rogue Creamery and the Crux Fermentation Project teamed up to create Coolship Beer No. 6, a lambic-style ale brewed using Rogue River Blue Cheese and aged in oak barrels for nearly 2 years.

"I think we handled a healthy dose of skepticism even from our blue cheese devotees," Marguerite Merritt, cheese emissary for Rogue Creamery, told KOIN-TV.

Larry Sidor is the founder and master brewer for the Crux Fermentation Project, said it was a hard sell for his own team.

"When I told my brewers what we were doing, they pretty much laughed. They thought, 'no way, this will not work,'" Sidor said.

The duo said that despite the doubters, Coolship Beer No. 6 proved to be a tasty brew.

"It's got nuance and complexity, but it's not too cheesy, it's not too strong. It's a really nice balanced product that once you get to know it a little more, maybe sip two, three, glass, two or three, you may begin to pick up on that very, that slight hint of blue cheese on the finish," Merritt said.

Sidor said he was similarly pleased with the outcome.

"I was really impressed. And the brewers that were skeptical were very impressed," he said.

The Crux Pub in Southeast Portland is holding a tasting event for the new brew on Friday, and it will then be available to buy at both the pub and the creamery.