This is another cheese experiment in my quest to make a cheese that is so tasty that it causes uncontrollable drooling in people who think about eating it.  The stout gouda experiment came out delicious.  It was firm with a smooth texture and several mechanical openings in it.  No marbling to the cheese though.  Rind developed a nice darker color to it.  At only one month aged it hadn’t developed fully in flavor so I will need to make another one to see how a longer age change the flavor.  But on to the newest cheese experiment.  Which for me happens to be two at once.  I have made a lot of Caerphilly due to it’s overwhelming popularity with my friends and family.  It is wonderful smoked with apple wood in case anyone wants to try it smoked.

Normally when I make Caerphilly I use my standard recipe which does not include any cheddaring in the recipe.  But this time I wanted to make it with a full cheddaring then soak it in an espresso stout from oakshire brewing here in Eugene.  Thanks to Ian at Much to do about Cheese I had a time and method to make a stout cheddar.  About halfway through the cheese making process I realized that there was not enough time for me to do a full cheddar and beer soak before my dinner plans with family.  So I decided to try to see how a stirred curd Caerphilly would do.  (saves about 2 hours of time)

After pressing the cheese has a great aroma to it.  The only issue I saw was a crack developed in the side of the rind.  I think part of the cheesecloth folded and when unwrapped it is what was inside the crack.  After i air-dried the cheese I vacuum sealed the entire cheese to keep the crack from getting worse or developing a mold issue that I can’t wipe off.  Now into the cheese fridge for a month and we will see if it is drool worthy. I forgot to take a picture of the cheese after it came out of the mold…….