Care For a Little Wine With That Cheese?

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of watching our friends dog, Rabano, again. They ran down south for a few days, and when they returned, they brought back a shirt for Jan, and some cheese for me. I happen to love Beechers Flagship cheese. My friend Mark introduced me to it a little over a year ago. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I'm unable to get it here in Hoonah. The closest place I know of is the Costco store in Juneau. It's a little spendy, but well worth the cost. I'm afraid I can't adequately describe the flavor. It's sharp,with a bit of a salty tang that is so satisfying. If you look closely, you can see that I'm holding two blocks of cheese. One is an eight pound behemoth, and the other is about a three ounce sampler. I'm sorry to say that even though Mark and Sarah appreciated the dog sitting, the eight pound block is Marks. However, in all fairness, I must mention that Mark was good enough to order my favorite soft drink, Vernors, and was generous in his sharing with me. I should also point out that he brought some of his Beecher's to the house for a gathering, so he's not in the least stingy. Beechers cheese is so popular that they have an entire store in the Sea-Tac airport, and every time I've been by there, there's been a line to get in. If you've never tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so. Perhaps you finished a project ahead of time at work, or went out of your way to be kind to a neighbor, or helped out your spouse with an unpleasant chore. Reward yourself with a block of Beecher's Premium Flagship cheese. I'd like to mention that Beecher's is handmade from Jersey and Holstein cows milk. I'm quite certain the cows don't make the cheese, they just provide the main ingredient. It should also be noted that it's additive free, and aged for fifteen months. I don't really understand what aging does to cheese, I guess the time it ages affects the sharpness of it. I would think that after ingesting an eight pound block of cheese, one might be looking for a strong laxative. It would seem like that much protein could play havoc on the old digestive system. Frankly, I didn't even know that they made blocks of cheese that big for the average consumer. Maybe for a restaurant, but not for the average Joe on the street. Mark was quite impressed with the label too. He mentioned buying a triangle picture frame, the kind that you might display a folded flag in for his label. He could star in his own Alka- Seltzer commercial. Years ago I believe there was one where people were saying "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." You never see cheese eating contests at state fairs. I think there should be. I wonder how much wine you would need to accompany an eight pound block of cheese. Perhaps a whole vat, I don't know. In any event, if you should find yourself in the Sea Tac airport or wherever fine cheeses are sold, I hope you'll avail yourself of the opportunity and purchase some. You'll be glad you did.