Alpine Cheese Dairy

[linuxboy]

Best of luck.

[Alpkäserei]

Hey thanks a lot guys!

For me, it is about the perks. I would rather offer something of strong value for contributions close to what the actual value will be. I don't want a handout! I'm viewing these crowdfunding ventures more from the perspective of raising funds through pre-sales of mt products and services. That is good for me too as a business, because not only do I get money right away, but I am also guaranteeing a broad dispersal of my goods, which is going to help me have the leverage I need to make other deals, like securing additional milk supplies, etc.

[Alpkäserei]

[scasnerkay]

It is too beautiful for words. It looks like it has been there for centuries. What a nice building to work in!

[jwalker]

Fantastic building , I love it !

You are very talented and I wish you all the best in this enterprise !

Keep us posted , and sooo looking forward to you commencing production in the new building , any idea when? , I imagine there is still a fair bit of work to do.

And I really like that copper kettle , did you get that from Switzerland ?

[Alpkäserei]

Really there are only 2 things keeping me from making some batches right now, I'm waiting to see how funding goes (it's looking pretty hopeful right now) and I am waiting on some better equipment to arrive from Switzerland. I ordered a bunch of tools and such a few weeks ago, just need to wait for them to fly over here, and go through customs. I received confirmation today for the other half of my order, a new vat (400 lit. copper) and a stirring device customized to it.

The vat I have right now is about 150 lit, a little bit smaller. I had it made in the US (Caldwell Mountain Copper, in Virginia. I'd highly recommend it to anyone) but I needed a bigger one, and I wanted a real Swiss vat with the characteristic shape -because on a vat of this size, that shape helps you out a lot.

Today I want to try and meet with some of my potential milk suppliers and put some updated offers down on the table. One guy I am trying to buy out of Prairie Farms, and that's not easy (because once he's out, he'll never be back in) so I need to be able to guarantee him a long term deal.

[Boofer]

Where do you get all of your energy? :-\

Handcrafting a cheese chalet with Old World techniques and tools, and then making Swiss cheeses with traditional methods. Wow!

My hat is off to you, Alp, and I hope my meager contribution helps this vision to materialize. You are a true beacon in the cheese wilderness...in Indiana. ::)

-Boofer-

[janij]

I have to say that is a beautiful building and I wish you the best of luck on this project!  I would send you one of my cows if I was closer!

[JeffHamm]

I'm very impressed with all you've done here.  This is a great looking work environment.  I wish you all the best in your endeavors.  A cheese to you.

- Jeff

[Alpkäserei]

I've been busy lately, including a weekend trip to New Hampshire (1000 miles away) due to the duties of my other profession...

Here's an update of things over the past while, got my first shipment of tools from Winkler AG in Konolfingen, BE, Switzerland. THis included forms (Järb and Vättere type -that is, slip forms and cylinder forms) A harp, a curd stirrer (not sure what to call it? In German it's 'Brecher')
also a good thermometer -a mercury thermometer, optimized for Swiss style cheese making (that is, 30 and 50 C are marked boldly to make quick referencing easy). It's mercury, so it is very fast and accurate.
A few other items as well...

Then on Monday, I made my first batch of cheese in the cabin, in a makeshift setup with my new equipment (Trying to figure out how to optimize my setup before I install shelves, counters, the press, etc.) This is a Mutschli made to a low temperature, so it will be fast-ripening. Cooked to 40 C, so it is ready after 2 or 3 weeks.



The Mutschli is pressed lighter than others, so as you see here you can get a lot of mechanical openings. THat's OK for this cheese, since it isn't aged for very long. Also the way I have them arranged in the press as you see here means they won't get a whole lot of weight on them. For other cheeses, they will be in the slip hoops stacked vertically to ensure maximum weight.
Also my actual press setup will have more room to allow the stacking of the cylinder forms as well.

[H-K-J]

Nice Alp 8)
I'm sure you are excited about getting everything in it's place :)
a cheese for you, (I think you deserve it) ;D

[Alpkäserei]

Thinks are not QUITE in their place yet, but these preliminary makes are certainly helping me figure out how I want things to be set up.

Here's another pic, some things have been moved around a bit:



I put sheets of plywood down over the dirt floor (I'll be pouring concrete next week) to make things a bit more hygienic.

I have also been trying to figure out how to use cylinder molds. I have never used these before, having always learned with the 'Järb'
In particular, I am trying to figure out how we can stack these without the whole thing toppling over. With the Järb that is easy,  since they are wide they are quite stable. But the Vättere forms are tall and skinny, so they like to topple... It's all different.

So my experimentation led me to this:

Which is just a rough prototype. It's just a block that holds the forms from toppling over or kicking out.
THe only change is, I need a plate between the forms, because like this the cheeses can become lopsided.

I am much happier with the arrangement I have now for my press, I have a 9 or 10 foot beam (just pine, so it does not weigh much) with 1 1/2 concrete blocks on the far end. I can adjust my pressure easily by moving where I put the cheeses on the press table. FOr these skinny cheeses, I need to be putting them much closer to the end than I have been -I am squeezing too much curd out from around the followers.

[Alpkäserei]

We are now offering cheesemaking classes at our location,

Käserei Grimwald
8308 E County Road 1225 S
Galveston IN 46932

Classes are available starting next week, can rely here or send me a PM if you have any interest.

[Alpkäserei]

We have more or less completed our main production area. Right now I am working on the design for the primary aging space which will be located in the upper level of this structure. Eventually I will build a separate aging space, but this will have to do for now.

[Alpkäserei]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted an update here about the Käserei,
Things are coming along a lot more slowly than I had hoped, and I had to put things on pause for a couple months until I could get some more funds. Now I'm preparing to get back to work on the building and get things finished.
But I'd like to give an update to all those that are interested or have helped, because I've done a poor job lately of doing so.

Currently I am again in Switzerland on some business, and of course I've taken some time to inspect some cheese making facilities, eat cheese, and learn all I can from the top makers of the style(s) that I aim to produce. (This has even caused me to consider adding a special goat cheese to my inventory)

I'll upload some pictures later, but here's what's on the agenda:

I've expanded the roof on one side of the cabin and will be adding two rooms on that (east) side. One room will be a kitchen, where I will have the firebox for heating the cheese vat (I can't have a direct fire accessible from the make room)
The other room will house utilities and toilet.

I'll also be adding on to the front, creating a 4 foot deep entryway to serve a variety of functions.

Then, upstairs, I'll be adding a large smoke chamber fed by the vat fires and cook stove for the smoking of meets and some specialty cheeses.
Otherwise, the upstairs will be finished as either an office or a small apartment (or both)

I'm also going to be building my 'Spycher' or aging shack for my cheese, using 8 inch deep stacked timbers to make a thick walled structure with good thermal properties.