Beecher's Flagship

You might be skeptical of a cheesemaker located smack in the middle of a tourist attraction, the kind of place where they sell t-shirts that say "I'm with stupid" or "My cousin went to this city and all he brought back was a t-shirt."

Beecher's does business amid the tourist swirl of Seattle's Pike Place Market. But that address is no ground for suspicion. Beecher's makes a mighty fine cheese.

The Flagship -- that's the name of the cheese -- is marvelous, rich in flavor with an aged, slightly nutty complexity. Although it's not exactly a Cheddar, it's close enough. So think of it as one.

Flagship has the sharpness of a well-aged Cheddar, but it's slightly creamier than you'd expect. (I think that's because they use a variety of different yeast cultures to make the cheese, instead of just employing traditional Cheddar cultures.)

The combination tastes like a robust cross between Cheddar some fine Swiss mountain cheese, like Emmentaler.

Note that there is an even sharper version of this, aged for a longer period of time, called Flagship Reserve. Beecher's only sells it at the Pike Place store, however. So if you want to try it, you may have to deal with some other hungry tourists.

PAIRINGS: This is a great beer cheese. Try it with a sweet brown ale or a spicy India Pale Ale. On the wine front, find a fruity Northwest Pinot to go with it.