Top to bottom: Abondance, Parmigiano Reggiano, Brie de Coulommiers

Maibock

STYLE NOTES: Brewers don’t require much of an occasion to brew a special-occasion beer. The coming of spring is reason enough. March may be bitterly cold, but by May, the weather could be warm enough to sit outside with friends and a mug, and that’s worth celebrating, no?

Such optimism possibly inspired the creation of Maibock (“May” beer), a lager that needs several weeks of cold storage to mellow before its spring release. Of German origin, the style has taken hold in America’s brewpubs, where it often provides the excuse for a festival.

Typically a touch less malty and more bitter than traditional bock, Maibock tends to be a shade lighter, too. Most Maibocks are crystal clear and golden to amber in hue—hardly pale yet often classified as helles bock (pale bock) to distinguish them from the darker bocks and doppelbocks. Yet, like other bocks, they are relatively strong and richly malty, with an alcohol level that may top 7 percent. They have a sweet, toasty middle but a moderately dry to dry finish, with enough hops bitterness to make them refreshing in warm weather. Compared to most pilsners, the classic Maibock has more color, fuller body, and more alcoholic warmth.

Brewers consider Maibock a seasonal offering, for enjoyment from late spring through summer. Helles bocks, which some craft brewers identify as blonde lagers, are brewed year-round.

BEERS TO TRY: Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock; Elysian Brewing Ambrosia Maibock; Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock; Gordon Biersch Maibock; Rogue Dead Guy Ale; Spaten Maibock.

CHEESE AFFINITIES: The malty depth and fullness of a Maibock complement cheeses with buttery and nutty scents. Consider alpine-style cow’s milk cheeses like Beaufort, with their roasted-nut aromas and sweet finish. Aged sheep’s milk cheeses with brown-butter aromas appreciate Maibock’s malty personality, as do buttery triple-cream cheeses and bloomy-rind cheeses such as Brie. Tangy goat cheeses and Cheddars aren’t as pleasing with Maibocks; these high-acid cheeses can make the beer seem too sweet.

Brie de Coulommiers—or Coulommiers, for short—belongs to the same bloomy-rind family as Brie de Meaux, the beloved French cow’s milk cheese. But the latter can’t be sold in the United States because it doesn’t meet FDA aging requirements for raw-milk cheese. Fortunately, Coulommiers is a more than adequate stand-in. Made in a nearly identical manner but with pasteurized milk, Coulommiers satisfies import laws. It is smaller in diameter and thicker than Brie de Meaux, but the flavor profile is similar. When on the young side, Coulommiers has a snow-white rind and a buttery, sour cream–like flavor. With more maturity, the cheese develops some reddish markings on the rind; the interior becomes more supple and silky; and a savory aroma emerges, suggesting mushrooms and aged beef. Whether youthful or fully ripe, Coulommiers has the buttery, faintly nutty quality that responds to a beer on the malty side.

Not as common at American cheese counters as comparable cheeses like Beaufort and Comté, Abondance is worth seeking out. Made from raw cow’s milk in the French Alps, the 15- to 30-pound wheels receive at least three months’ aging but often twice that. More mature wheels have a firm, dense, smooth, and fine-grained texture; aromas of brown butter, light caramel, and grass; and a mellow, fruity finish. The extra alcohol in a Maibock gives the beer enough substance for this cheese’s concentrated flavor.

Although many people purchase Parmigiano Reggiano only for cooking, it is one of the world’s great table cheeses. To preserve its granular texture, break it into rocky chunks with a short, triangular-bladed Parmesan knife; don’t try to slice it. The giant wheels receive a minimum of one year of aging, but a two-year-old Parmigiano Reggiano will be even better, with a deep gold color; a pleasing crunch from protein crystals; and a toasty, nutty, brown-butter aroma with a hint of orange peel. At its best, Parmigiano Reggiano will be complex, elegant, and mellow, perfectly balanced between sweetness, acidity, and salt. Its concentration and robust, nutty aroma call for strong, malty beers like Maibock.

MORE CHEESES TO TRY: Beaufort; Camembert; Comté; Emmental; Fiore Sardo; Garrotxa; Gruyère; Rouge et Noir Triple Crème Brie; Seal Bay Triple Cream Brie.