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Get your free copy24 December 2017, 05:02 AM
- Village Maid Cheese, producer of Wigmore, Waterloo and Spenwood, has released a new cheese named Maida Vale
It is described by the company as as a semi-soft, Channel Island cow’s milk cheese that is washed with Treason IPA from Uprising Brewery in Windsor. Washing the cheese with the ale produces a tangy, washed-rind flavour with hints of hoppy IPA coming through.
Jake Wigmore, associate director said, “Anne Wigmore, founder and director, began experimenting with rind-washing with a brine solution in November 2016, but wanted something more different than the well-known washed-rind cheeses that are already on the market. When myself and my partner Kayleigh joined the business in April, we all decided to play around with washing the rind in ale due to our love of craft ales as well as our curiosity in the traditional art of Trappist cheese.”
Selecting a beer with local Berkshire credentials was important to the team, and after trialling 14 different beers ranging from stouts to blondes, they landed on the Treason IPA produced by Uprising Brewer in Windsor.
Jake continued, “It’s hoppy and fruity, and we knew it paired nicely with our other semi-soft Channel Island cow’s milk cheese, Waterloo, so decided to give it a go. Treason IPA just gave the cheese such a distinctive flavour compared to others.”
Maida Vale not only differs from the cheesemaker’s other varieties because of it being their first experiment with washed-rind cheese, but it also comes in individual boxes with clear packaging while the others come wrapped in white wax paper. Jake said, “We want everybody to see the deep-orange colour of the rind and the aim is to encourage customers to bake it in the box.”
