I am going to make a cheddar today and am toying with the idea of the 'stout' version where curds are soaked in beer prior to pressing. However, I have this really great Munich Lager that I made 5 months ago. I would like to use this but am curious if anyone knows what the effects of the lager yeast would do to the cheese. Lager yeasts will ferment at cold temps, so the aging process could be interesting.
Does anyone have experience to share on using lager at this stage?
Pre-press soaking of cheddar curds was discussed before, the ultimate conclusion is that without massive pressure (by a pnuematic press or a pully system dutch press) you wont be able to get good matting.
Thanks for your reply Tomer1.
I have a pully dutch press, so I'm not too concerned with pressing. I'm really wondering about any fermentation of the lager yeast during aging and if there are any known negative effects.
There are stout cheddars at my local grocer for purchase, and based on the marbling, I conclude that these are pre-press soaked. Of course, I really have no clue other than seeing the marbling.
I'll do some searching on pre-pressed soaking.
Its hard to say, you only need some viable yeast and a bit of residual glucose for fermentation.
You could go safe and heat the wine before using it for soaking. Be sure to follow past threads on curd soaking for good tips.
Ive never done a lager but I've done a porter and a port. I did leave it out to room temperature and soaked the curds in it for like 30 minutes and pressed for 15 minutes with 2, #10 sized can of tomatoes (less than 20 pounds for 2- 1.5Kg kadova molds) in the sink in a bucket in surrounded by warm water and got a great press for 15 minutes. I cut one cheese (the porter) just to see if it would press right.
I've tried this a couple of times now, and I think that a stout soaked Gouda gets better flavor from the stout. But there's nothing like the look of those commercial cheeses with the dark veining. There have been a few threads on this, search the forum, and the best suggestion seems to be using a lactic curd cement with the stout added for great veining without the curds separating.