Ale-washed Cheddar

[pastpawn]

I used non-homogonized milk and man, I had the squeekiest curds. 

I hardly got any whey out of the press.  Odd.  There was some liquid, but instead of it being milky, it looked just like water. 

I've been focussing on just cheddars.  It's getting a little boring (I have everything to do camembert and blue and such).  But I really want to get one cheese right, then move on.  I haven't made that much cheese yet, and every wheel is totally different that the last, even though they are all cheddars.

1/4 tsp of annatto.  It's a glow in the dark cheddar.  Might cut back on that next time.

This is the Brew-curds cheddar from Artisan Cheesemaking. I used MM100 in place of Meso II.  Otherwise, same. 

[pastpawn]

Was going to wash this cheese, but it developed some cracks right away while drying.  So, I'm skipping the washing and just vac bagged it.

[Stinky]

I did a Brew-Curds quite recently as well, and got much more marbling. Perhaps the ale was darker?

[pastpawn]

I did a Brew-Curds quite recently as well, and got much more marbling. Perhaps the ale was darker?

Don't know.  What style of beer did you use?  I wasn't expecting the marbling at all, or I would have used a dark beer myself. 

[Stinky]

I did a Brew-Curds quite recently as well, and got much more marbling. Perhaps the ale was darker?

Don't know.  What style of beer did you use?  I wasn't expecting the marbling at all, or I would have used a dark beer myself.

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13529.0.html

I'm not completely sure what you used, so I can't compare. But maybe you can tell...

[pastpawn]

I did a Brew-Curds quite recently as well, and got much more marbling. Perhaps the ale was darker?

Don't know.  What style of beer did you use?  I wasn't expecting the marbling at all, or I would have used a dark beer myself.

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13529.0.html

I'm not completely sure what you used, so I can't compare. But maybe you can tell...

Ooops.  I used a pale ale (homebrewed). 

[Stinky]

It'll still probably taste as good, just may not look quite as interesting. 

[pastpawn]

It'll still probably taste as good, just may not look quite as interesting. 

You can be sure I'll use a dark beer next time.  I've got a vanilla bourbon porter fermenting right now.  Sounds about right. 

[Stinky]

Another note from that make, I had almost no whey either. I think the cheddaring really means the curds lose a lot of the moisture they usually have when you scoop them straight from the pot.

[pastpawn]

Cut a wedge.  Texture was great, taste a little bland (time will help). 

Why the holes?  Did I not press hard enough?

[Stinky]

I imagine the taste will improve, I've heard cheddars get better with age.

If you followed the recipe... I deviated because I've noticed that people here use much more pressure, so I went to a recommended 40 lb. Since I overcooked the curds, still not sure how it'll turn out, but eh.