Hello from San Diego

[kdttocs]

Hello all, Scott here.

I'm a beer homebrewer adding cheese to my new hobby. Brewed my first batch of beer in 1998 and more batches than I can count since. Made some cheese about 10 years ago but stored my kit away and never touched it since. I've made yogurt 10+ times with great success.

My nanny is from central Mexico and grew up with her parent's making queso fresco with milk from their cow. The stories were enough to get bitten by the cheese bug. I've made queso blanco, fromage blanc and just tonight have a batch of queso fresco in a little press from my kit.

I'm currently in the process of building a Sous-Vide/Homebrewing RIMS inspired mini-cheese vat. It will cook 2+ gallons and hold/increase temp with recirculating water with ease (at least that's the plan, haha). I'm also building a dutch press that is easily broken down and stored. I'm also throwing in a cheese cave. I have a good amount of experience with temperature controllers through fermenting beer and currently translating it to humidity control.

Ignorance is bliss so for now I'm pretty excited. :)

Scott

[Mighty Mouse]

Ah! Welcome fellow home brewer!

I have only been brewing for a short while, cheese I have been doing for a few years now.

Any particular cheese types you thinking about?

[kdttocs]

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheddar is a staple in our home. Like homebrewing though, there's a balance between beer than need to *age* and ones you can drink quicker. I figure if I put together a setup to make cheddar I have the equipment (minus forms) to make many cheeses in between. Knowing that a good cheddar needs time to age and my stomach needs cheese I going to explore.

Cheddar, jack, blue, brie and mozzarella are all consumed with regularity.

[Mighty Mouse]

Well, if my 2 cents are worth anything, it is an incredibly fun hobby. Lots of room for creative expression. Luckily, the start up costs and cost per make tend to be relatively low (always a plus).

I figure if I put together a setup to make cheddar I have the equipment (minus forms) to make many cheeses in between.

I would defintely agree with that. Equiptment-wise, there tend to be little variation. For traditional mozzarella you might want to get a reliable pH meter. I know some people make it without but I imagine that would be challenging. Cheater mozzarella (aka 30 minute mozzarella) is very easy and can be made easily without a pH meter.

Cheddar is a staple in our home.

Cheddar certainly has a following! I have tried making a traditional cheddar a couple of times, it has been about a year since I did. Wasn't really my thing, but I know some people really enjoy making it. I prefer longer aged Gouda both in terms of making and taste. As such, my experience with cheddar is a bit limited. Although I would tend to suspect that if you want to get a flavorful cheddar in a shorter period time time, adding some lipase to your recipe may be worth trying out.

Knowing that a good cheddar needs time to age and my stomach needs cheese I going to explore.

If you want a shorter aging, have you looked at Manchego? Some manchgos are aged a very short period of time (on the order of a week), others longer. Manchego recipes (the ones I have seen, not sure about all) are designed to develop some good flavor fairly quickly. I have never made colby, but if I recall my recipes correctly, colby ages between 2 or 3 months- not bad. Brie takes 5-6 weeks (depending on the recipe) to ripen plus a couple of days for the bloom to form. I have a couple of bries going right now with gorgeous rinds- they are about at 4 or 5 weeks and feel pretty close to ready (I am actually new to brie myself).

Of course... you certainly cannot go wrong with mozzarella! Very fun cheese to make too! Mozzarella is one of the first cheeses I made. There is something really cool about having a dinner party in which you serve pizza with you own home made mozzarella and crust topped with your own home made chevre.

I'll be starting some Monterrey Jack this weekend personally.

[Tiarella]

Welcome.  There is a short aging Cheddar recipe that someone used recently with great success.  Maybe it's posted on the Cheddar style board?  Also, something I've played with a fair amount is the Welsh cheese Caerphilly.  Most recipes give that a 3 week aging suggestion with longer bringing more nuanced flavors.  I think my first make I did following Green Gavin's site.  I'm not not at my desktop computer so I'm guessing when I say the address is www.littlegreencheese.com.  I think he had photo AND video tutorials on that.  I've made quite a few Caerphillies to give us quick cheese to enjoy while the others age.  You can age them with a clean rind or a natural mold rind.

[H-K-J]

I think this is the one T. is talking about.
I made it a couple of weeks ago, it will age till Christmas I hope  ::)

[Mighty Mouse]

it will age till Christmas I hope  ::)

He he he.... my kind of cheese dude!