Barley Days Brewery, Beer, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Prince Edward County

Return to Barley Days: One-of-a-kind brews in the County

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Brewmaster Alex Nichols begins the process of barrel-aging beer. Photo: Great Canadian Beer Blog

There is nothing like drinking maple syrup with your dinner—in a beer, that is. 

Barley Days Brewery in Prince Edward County specializes in crafting seasonal beers for residents to enjoy with festivities. With spring’s arrival, the sap begins to flow and Barley Days offers customers a Sugar Shack Ale, brewed with maple syrup from nearby Fosterholm Farm.

Judging by the reaction from customers on the brewery’s Facebook page, the season-specific beers are a huge hit. Stocks of the Sugar Shack Ale sold quickly at the annual Maple in the County event and the brewery has almost sold out its entire 2011 batch.

The company also offers a Yuletide beer made with County cherries, a harvest ale made with local wheat, a dark ale, a Loyalist summer ale and a May bock for consumers who still desire a craft beer once the maple syrup has dried up.

Founded by Christopher and Norah Rogers, Barley Days offers local residents, tourists and LCBOs with a great-buy local option. Supported by sales driver Donna Sauvé and brewmaster Alex Nichols, the local business have created a winning recipe for success.

Donna Sauvé on tap at Barley Days Brewery.

Situated at an old dairy farmhouse outside Picton, Barley Days has based its label and brewing on historical roots.  In the 19th century, barley and hops were the cash crops of the County.  The American demand for these ingredients was high and the settlers catered to the demand. Barley Days celebrates these boom years by reaching back to the days when barley enabled the County to flourish. With the recent winery expansions, the County is once again reliving the Barley Days.

As a craft brewery, Barley Days uses local, high-quality ingredients to cut down on shipping costs; yet, this allows the brewery to offer their seasonal, one-of-a-kind brews.

The brewery continues the local theme by using paintings by the famous artist, Manly MacDonald.  Four different bottles use MacDonald’s paintings, which were famous for their depictions of area landscapes.

When MacDonald’s images cannot be used for bottles, Barley Days employs local artists, such as Aidan Haley, whose work adorns the bottle of the 2011 Sugar Shack Ale. Each year the brewery showcases these local talents when the various seasonal beers arrive in stores.

BARLEY DAYS BREWS

  • Wind and Sail Dark Ale 5% alc./vol: A dark, heavy ale based upon a nutty and chocOlate flavour is a nice addition to a hot winter meal. Availability: Year-Round
  • Harvest Gold Pale Ale 4.8% alc./vol: A golden, light ale spiced with apple and peach. Availability: Year-Round
  • Loyalist Lager 4.5% alc./vol: A smooth, easy-to-drink lager that is perfect for the hot summer days. Availability: Summer
  • Yuletide Cherry Porter 5.5% alc./vol:  An unfiltered, cherry red porter that is a perfect supplement with turkey and cranberries. Availability: Winter
  • Working Man’s Stout 4.5% alc./vol: A heavy, roasted flavour is a perfect way to reward a hard worker. Availability: Winter-Spring
  • Sugar Shack Ale 5.5% alc./vol:  The famous County treat is the strongest brew by Barley Days and goes well with pancakes or any spring treats. Availability: Spring

BARLEY DAYS BREWERY

13730 Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33), Picton, Ontario   Telephone 613.476.PINT (7468)

The beer is available on tap at nearby Waring House (same proprietors) which offers tourists and locals a chance to taste the seasonal beers along with a meal. Consumers can also find the brew at many Quinte area LCBOs, although selection may be limited to the year-round brews.

Barley Days Brewery will be a Featured Craft Brewer at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s fastest-growing culinary destination and Canada’s newest VQA wine region. Barley Days beers will be available for tasting at the All-Day Cheese-Tasting Seminar Program and Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Saturday and during Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair on Sunday.

—Troy Stewart

Troy Stewart, a recent graduate of the Post-Grad Public Relations Program at Loyalist College looking for a career in PR, maintains a blog called PR with Troy. He likes his cheese and he likes his beer.

 

Fromagerie La Moutonnière, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Sheep cheese

La Moutonnière: Happy sheep make award-winning cheese

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Alastair MacKenzie and Lucille Giroux with their sheep at La Moutonnière in Quebec.

For Lucille Giroux, Fromagerie La Moutonnière was a second home, and cheesemaking a second career.

More than 30 years ago, Giroux and her husband moved from Montreal to a farm three hours outside the city, so they could raise their children in the Quebec countryside. Giroux, who had worked as a nurse in Montreal, began raising sheep and selling both their meat and wool. A few years later, she began milking the animals and making cheeses.

With her business expanding, Giroux took on Alastair MacKenzie as a business partner in 2000. He oversees the animals and farm, while Giroux manages the cheese side. Much like Giroux, MacKenzie got into the cheesemaking business in a roundabout way. He grew up in New Zealand and was a third-generation sheep farmer on the family farm.

MacKenzie met his wife, Karine, in New Zealand; a native of Quebec, she was a university student studying abroad. When she finished her studies in New Zealand, Karine returned to Quebec, and after seven years of dating long-distance, MacKenzie moved to Quebec in 1999.

Wanting to put his farming skills to use, MacKenzie searched for a suitable job in Canada. It was Karine who first heard about La Moutonnière. She read an article about Giroux and her business while sitting in a dentist’s waiting room. MacKenzie visited Giroux on her farm, and after discussing the business, they agreed to become partners.

“I’ve been here 11 years now—time really flies,” MacKenzie says. “Over that time we went from making about 1,000 kilograms of artisanal cheese to over 12,000 kilograms now.”

The sheep herd now numbers 150. Three years ago, La Moutonnière built a brand new cheese plant. While 95 per cent of their products are made with sheep milk, they’ve begun experimenting with goat and buffalo milk as well.

Giroux and MacKenzie are dedicated to raising “100 per cent happy sheep.” MacKenzie explains their sheep live a good life: they move freely, and go outside whenever the Quebec weather allows it; they have enough to eat and drink; and they’re well respected by their owners.

MacKenzie believes consumers today are aware of problems in the food industry, and many now want to know how farm animals are treated. There is a movement toward artisanal products, and a concern for animal welfare.

“A few years ago, there was this big movement toward organic, and it was very trendy until we developed industrial organic farms,” MacKenzie explains. “For me, and for lots of the clients, they began wanting to know about animal welfare, whether the animals were given a good life. A lot of people know now that what happens behind the scenes of the food we eat is not good.”

At La Moutonnière, the focus is on creating quality, artisan products and tending to the welfare of the animals that allow them to run their business.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDYwf5REas8&w=480&h=300]

TASTING NOTES

  • Le Fleur des Monts – pasteurized pressed sheep’s milk cheese aged from 3 to 9 months. Rich tasting, with notes of almond.
  • Le Sein d’Hélène – blend of sheep and Jersey cow milk, aged from 2 to 4 months. Creamy, with a slight acidity.
  • Le Bleu – mild-tasting sheep’s milk bleu. Slightly sweet with the sharpness typical of bleu cheeses.
  • Feta – fresh sheep cheese stored in olive oil and fresh herbs.
  • Ricotta – fresh sheep cheese made with whey. It is smooth, creamy and sweet.
  • Le Neige de Brebis – mild, fresh cheese made from whey.
  • Le Cabanon – aged soft cheese, wrapped in an alcohol-soaked maple leaf. It’s a full-bodied cheese with notes of hazelnut and spice.
  • Le Foin d’Odeur – soft washed-rind cheese. It’s a creamy, runny cheese with delicate flavours.

La Moutonnière also sells homemade yogurt, cream, sheep’s milk and desserts.

FROMAGERIE LA MOUTONNIÈRE

3456 rue Principale, Ste-Hélène de Chester, Québec, Canada, G0P 1H0  Telephone 819.382.2300

La Moutonnière cheeses are sold at the farm’s creamery in Ste-Hélène de Chester, Québec; at Jean-Talon market in Montreal; at select grocery stores in Quebec and Eastern Ontario; and at the Leslieville Cheese Market in Toronto.

La Moutonnière  will be a featured cheesemaker at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.

—Phoebe Powell

Phoebe Powell, senior roving reporter at CheeseLover.ca, is based Ottawa. Her last blog was on Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company.

Black River Cheese, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Prince Edward County

Black River Cheese: Making real cheddar for 110 years

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KSK8aCJ_SY&w=480&h=390]

Black River Cheese Company is one of the oldest cheesemaking operations in Eastern Ontario. In fact, it will celebrate it’s 110th birthday on June 4-5 while The Great Canadian Cheese Festival takes place nearby.

Black River Cheese is one of four stops on the Cheese Tour taking place on June 3, the day before the Festival.

When it was started in 1901 by a group of local farmers, it was one of 60 cheesemakers operating in Prince Edward County. Now, it is one of only two, joined by newcomer Fifth Town Artisan Cheese in 2008.

The fact that Black River Cheese has been around for so long means they are clearly doing something right, yet the other 59 cheesemakers who have since vanished prove that this isn’t always an easy business. In 2001, shortly after celebrating their 100th anniversary, an electrical fire devastated the historic facility. In the spirit of Black River Cheese Company’s resilient founders, the 6,000-square-foot creamery was rebuilt, and opened again for business just one year later.

Situated on the banks of Black Creek near the village of Milford, a stop at Black River Cheese is a popular destination for visitors to the area. The location is stunning, the river teeming with birds and wildlife, but it’s really the cheese that makes the crowds come calling. And the ice cream!

Black River Cheese is still a small co-operative, controlled by local farmers and dedicated to preserving a tradition of making superior cheese. They pride themselves on old-world craftsmanship, producing 100% natural cheeses with no artificial ingredients. Rennet-free and naturally aged, Black River Cheese only uses locally produced milk, opts for vegetable dyes, and never uses modified milk ingredients (MMI).

Black River’s cheesemaker is Brad Reid, a second-generation cheesemaker. County-born, he’s been at the company for six years, and in 2010 landed Black River a 3rd place prize at the British Empire Cheese Show with its Mild Cheddar. Reid is currently developing a few new recipes, so keep a lookout for some new cheeses that he’s keeping secret for now.

In the meantime, Black River has an excellent selection of cheeses to choose from:

  • Maple Cheddar – produced with real Maple syrup and sugar from local Fosterholm farm
  • Fresh – newly pressed and squeaky
  • Marble – a blend of pasteurized cheddar and mozzarella
  • Mozzarella – a washed style of American mozzarella
  • Skim Mozzarella
  • Mozzarrella specialties – Dill, Garlic, Horseradish, Hot Pepper, Jalapeno, Monterey Jack, Onion & Parsley, Salsa, Pepper Jack (Monterey Jack with chili peppers)
  • Cheddar – available in coloured or white, made in traditional ways, it gets sharper as it ages
  • Mild and medium cheddars — finalists in the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix
  • Old Cheddar – aged 1 to 6 years
  • Curd – coloured, white or garlic, and makes a popular snack for visitors.

Lucky for me, Black River Cheese is just a short drive from my home, so I stopped in and tried a few samples. The Maple Cheddar has a golden hue and is crumbly, rich and sweet. It’s no surprise that this unique variety is one of their top-sellers, especially in an area so renowned for maple syrup production. The Six-Year-Old Cheddar I tried was ivory in colour, and was hard and crumbly. It had an intense bite and a slight crunch to it. One of the other best-selling cheeses is the Marble Cheddar. With its typical mottled colouring, it was firm and chewy with a mild tanginess.

BLACK RIVER CHEESE COMPANY

913 County Road 13, R.R. # 2, Milford, Ontario K0K 2P0   Telephone 613-476-2575, 1-888-252-5787

Black River Cheese is for sale at its scenically located factory outlet, as well as at health food stores and specialty sections of supermarkets.

Black River Cheese will be a Featured Cheesemaker at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s booming new wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.

—Krista Dalby

A writer living in Prince Edward County, Krista Dalby runs Small Pond Arts with her husband. Read their blog at smallpondarts.blogspot.com.

Arla Foods, Awards, Black River Cheese, Cheese business, Cow cheese, Cows Creamery, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Fromagerie Blackburn, Fromagerie du Presbytère, Fromagerie La Suisse Normandie, Fromagerie Perron, Glengarry Fine Cheese, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Gurth Pretty, International Cheese, Le Belle de Jersey, Le Bleu d'Élizabeth, Louis d'Or, Mont Jacob, Natural Pastures Cheese

Louis d’Or: Best of the best in Canadian Cheese Grand Prix

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The smiling-cow tie worn by Grand Champion Jean Morin breaks up TV personalities Anne-Marie Withenshaw and Ben Mulroney at the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Gala of Champions.

It was an unforgettable evening for cheesemaker Jean Morin, his brother, Dominic, and associate cheesemaker Dany Grimard.

Louis d’Or, the extraordinary cheese they make at Fromagerie du Presbytère, was declared Grand Champion—the best of the best—at the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix last night.

Additionally, in an unprecedented awards sweep, Louis d’Or was named champion in three different categories:

  • Firm cheese
  • Farmstead cheese
  • Organic cheese

On top of that, their fabulous Bleu d’Élizabeth was selected champion in the blue-cheese category!

Clearly, Jean Morin was the happiest and proudest cheese producer in Canada last night as the Gala of Champions unfolded at Palais Royale in Toronto, scene of a lavish awards ceremony cum cheese-tasting organized by Dairy Farmers of Canada, sponsors of the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.

Dominic Morin, Dany Grimard and Jean Morin are flanked by Phil Bélanger, Grand Prix jury chair, and Ben Mulroney, TV personality and co-MC at the Gala of Champions.

In his acceptance speech, Jean was quick to give credit to his brother, Dominic, who looks after their herd of cows, and to Dany Grimard, who runs the make room in the former rectory that serves as the creamery across the street from their farm in Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick two hours east of Montréal.

Jean and Dominic are fourth-generation dairy farmers who have found amazing success as first-generation cheese producers in a few short years. What’s the secret of their success?

“Happy, healthy cows,” Jean says. “It all starts with the milk, and the care we show the cheese as we make it.”

Appropriately, smiling cows adorned the tie Jean wore to the awards gala.

Quadruple-award-winner Louis dOr from Fromagerie du Presbytère.

Phil Bélanger, chair of the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Jury and president of the New Brunswick Chapter of La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, had this to say about Louis d’Or:

“The milky richness of this cheese is a tribute to the organic milk with which it is made. The cheese has a smooth texture, warm nutty and floral notes in aroma and taste. Inspired by the traditional cheesemaking know-how from the Jura region, the cheesemaker created an amazing cheese.”

Louis d’Or is truly a magnificent cheese, with fine, complex flavours, eloquently expressed after nine months of ripening. The Louis d’Or cheese gets its name from the Louis d’Or Farm, which produces the organic milk used to make it. The name of the cheese also refers to the French currency of the same name used under the reign of Louis XIII in 1640.

The first opportunity for the public to taste Grand Prix winners in one place—and meet the makers such as Jean Morin—will be at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 4-5 in Picton in Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.

At the Festival, cheese expert and author Gurth Pretty, one of the Grand Prix judges, will lead a tutored tasting on cheese of Western Canada. Grand Prix champion Margaret Peters-Morris will conduct a demonstration of cheesemaking at home.

Here is the complete list of 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix winners, with asterisks indicating those already committed to taking part in The Great Canadian Cheese Festival:

Fresh cheese:

Soft cheese with bloomy rind:

Semi-soft cheese:

Washed-rind soft and semi-soft cheese:

Firm cheese:

Swiss-type cheese:

Mozzarella:

Blue cheese:

Flavoured cheese with added non-particulate flavouring:

Flavoured cheese with added particulate solids and flavouring:

Mild cheddar:

Medium cheddar:

Old and extra old cheddar:

Aged Cheddar (1-3 years):

  • Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Cows Creamery, Prince Edward Island*

Aged Cheddar (4 years +):

Farmhouse cheese:

Organic cheese:

The Canadian Cheese Grand Prix is a competition sponsored and hosted by Dairy Farmers of Canada, celebrating the high quality and proud tradition of Canadian cheese made from 100% Canadian cow’s milk.

For the 2011 competition, a record-breaking total of 203 cheeses from six provinces was submitted for judging in the competition.

A panel of Canada’s top cheese experts spent two days in Montréal rigorously tasting and evaluating the best cow-milk cheeses this country has to offer as they narrowed the field down to 51 cheeses in 17 categories.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs, cheesehead-in-chief at CheeseLover.ca, couldn’t believe his ears when Jean Morin mentioned him and the upcoming Great Canadian Cheese Festival in his acceptance remarks.

Awards, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Great Canadian Cheese Festival

Canadian Cheese Grand Prix: Winners in real time on Twitter

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Tonight’s the night! The winners in the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix will be announced at a Gala of Champions in Toronto this evening.

I’m aiming to provide a live news feed on Twitter starting soon after six o’clock and continuing until the Grand Champion is named.

The reason there’s so much excitement around here about the Grand Prix is that the winners will presented at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival upcoming on June 4-5. It will be the first opportunity for cheese lovers to taste the winning cheeses in one place at one time.

During the Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair on Festival Sunday (June 5), Deborah Levy of Dairy Farmers of Canada will lead a tutored tasting of the winners. They’ll also be featured the Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Festival Saturday (June 4).

Click here for a look at the cheeses in the competition organized and sponsored by Dairy Famers of Canada. They represent the best in cow’s milk cheeses for sale in the country this year.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs, cheesehead-in-chief at CheeseLover.ca, is the founder and director of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.

Dairy Farmers of Canada, Ivy Knight, Julia Rogers, Top Chef Canada, Video

Top Chef Canada: Attack of the Cheese top-secret no more

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UPDATE: CLICK TO VIEW EPISODE 2 IN ITS ENTIRETY

Judgment time at Top Chef Canada: Cheese is up next.

CLICK HERE FOR A PREVIEW OF THE CHEESE EPISODE

Former Susur Lee Sous-Chef Dustin Gallagher’s playful tussle with a large block of fromage in Episode 1 gave Top Chef Canada viewers a heads-up on a key ingredient in upcoming Episode 2: Canadian cheese!

Titled “Cheese, Glorious, Cheese” and airing on Food Network Canada on Monday at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT, the chefs battle with each other in typical Top Chef style with first a quickfire and then an elimination based on creating appetizing cheese dishes.  It’ll be quite a challenge for some, particularly Gordon Ramsay protégé Chef Dale Mackay who admits to not having much experience cooking with cheese, as well as Calgary Chef and Sommelier Rebekah Pearse who calls the challenge “a little tough.”

The chefs are given a range of Canadian cheeses from coast to coast. Will they use gouda from Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in B.C., Alberta’s Sylvan Star Cheese, or Ontario’s Thunder Oak Cheese Farm?  Cheddar from Quebec’s Perron or Wilton’s Cheese Factory in Ontario?  Perhaps they will create from a hodgepodge of cheeses?  Selecting the wedges they know, the culinary contenders craft distinct plates for a cocktail party of 50 guests who help the judges in their selection of the second chef to be asked to pack his or her knives and go.

The most watched original premiere in Food Network Canada’s history, Top Chef Canada continues to vigorously protect its trade secret: the element of surprise. The cheeses procured and showcased? Guarded jealously. News of a guest judge from the cheese industry? Mum’s the word. We’ll have to watch Monday’s episode to find out!

—Gabi Gopie-Tree

Gabi has a law and politics background but her passion for food, wine, and entertainment developed from nearly a decade in Europe and the U.K. where, she discovered, many still find the time to enjoy the finer things in life. Gabi blogs about food, wine, music, travel, and life at poshbirdgabi.wordpress.com

Editor’s note:

It’s amazing how tightly shrouded in secrecy the producers of Top Chef Canada like to keep their show before it airs. Witness the scant information CheeserLover.ca was able to obtain for the above report.

No mention of even the basics, such as Dairy Farmers of Canada being the sponsor of the episode and provider of the cheese.

Even cheese and wine expert Julia Rogers, a good friend and supporter and presenter at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival we’re organized, wouldn’t say boo when we emailed for confirmation about her serving as the guest judge on Episode 2.

“Sorry, but I signed a confidentiality agreement as thick and detailed as could be. I will not be able to comment on anything you ask prior to the show airing, except to say that the challenge involved Canadian cheese,” she emailed.

But, if the truth were known, Julia did post this tidbit on her Facebook page:

Top Chef Canada spoiler alert . . . On Monday, watch me judge contestants’ cocktail party cheese offerings with as much integrity as possible, while wearing false eyelashes and losing the microphone down my dress.

From other sources, we learned:

Monday’s episode of Top Chef Canada on the Food Network will be all about CHEESE!  The episode will be the main ingredient in the two key challenges in the show and will be featured prominently throughout the show.

The first challenge of the show is the “Quickfire Challenge” that measures specific skill sets of the competitors. For the challenge, a table full of cheeses made from 100% Canadian Milk will be unveiled to the competitors and they will be asked to create a dish using as many cheeses as they wish and then describe the dish and the inspiration behind it.

In the “Elimination Challenge,” the competitors will be divided into teams and will be given a specific Canadian Cheese and a meal course to work within. The chefs must then create a dish around their kind of cheese that works within the corresponding course in the dinner service—which is at an actual function. This challenge will showcase the versatility and variety of Canadian cheese.

We’ve posted the video clip that is posted on the Food Network Canada website at the top of this post. Those who are unable to watch the show Monday night will be able to view it on the website Tuesday.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs is Cheesehead-in-Chief at CheeseLover.ca. He’ll have a tape in the old VCR on Monday night as he and SO will be at the Drake Hotel taking in the Battle of Paté organized by Ivy Knight as part of her 86’d series of fun food events.

Great Canadian Cheese Festival

Volunteers needed at Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 4-5

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A multi-day, multi-faceted event like The Great Canadian Cheese Festival relies on many volunteers to make it all happen.

We’re issuing a call to culinary students from nearby colleges and people in the community to join the effort. We’ll need a wide range of skills and experience: registration staff, parking attendants, servers, hosts, three cheese-prep teams for the tutored tastings, eight culinary teams to work with chefs, set-up and tear-down crews, groundskeepers and many others.

We need more than 50 worker bees but we’ll also need a handful of take-charge people to lead teams of volunteers.

It will be work and it will be fun—but you won’t go home empty-handed.

The range of benefits for volunteers includes colourful Cheese Festival T-shirts, admission to Festival functions and lunch on Saturday according to hours worked, admission to the Cheese Fair & Artisan Food Market on Sunday and the opportunity to taste more than 100 Canadian artisan and farmstead cheeses as well as sampling artisan food and, for those of the age of majority, fine wine and craft beer. PLUS: Discounted admission to the many attractions listed at Attractions Ontario.

Here’s where to volunteer:

If you have any questions about volunteering, please email info@cheesefestival.ca.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Georgs Kolesnikovs is founder and director of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, the first time ever in Canada when there is one event that cheese lovers can attend to learn, talk, taste—and purchase—Canadian cheeses from coast to coast. More than 100 artisan and farmstead cheeses represented, made from Canadian cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk.

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Petra Cooper

Fifth Town: Winning awards for artisan cheese and sustainable design

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Fifth Town: An award-winning creamery for award-winning cheese.

Although Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company has been producing cheese for less than three years, it has built a solid reputation for producing fine, hand-made cheeses using fresh, locally produced goat, sheep and cow’s milk, as well as for a commitment to be environmentally and socially responsible.

Fifth Town has been the recipient of more than 20 awards since opening in July 2008, including several from the American Cheese Society.

You’ll find the sustainable facility in Ontario’s Prince Edward County, located on 20 acres of agricultural land overlooking the St. Lawrence River. To cool, heat and power the dairy processing, retail and educational facility, geo-thermal technology and two renewable sources of energy—wind and solar—are used. The advanced sustainable design won Fifth Town Platinum LEED accreditation in February 2009, making it the first dairy in North America to receive platinum status.

Petra Kassun-Mutch, founder and president of Fifth Town, and Stephanie Diamant, master cheesemaker, didn’t always make cheese.

Petra Kassun-Mutch left her career as a publishing executive in Toronto to pursue her passion for artisan cheesemaking, traveling and studying widely. When it was time build her creamery, she selected the County on account of family connections there and familiarity with the land and resources at hand. Paired with the County’s reputation for being an emerging culinary destination, it seemed a natural fit.

Stephanie Diamant, on the other hand, has a background in medical research and a degree in agriculture. She spent 10 years operating a dairy-sheep farm near Georgian Bay where she began making cheese in her small kitchen. From there, Stephanie decided to head for England where she travelled visiting dairy sheep farms, and completed an apprenticeship. In 2008, an opportunity presented itself and she joined Petra in her new venture.

Petra Kassun-Mutch amid goats that produce milk for Fifth Town.

Currently producing a variety of fresh, washed-rind, soft ripened, hard and limited edition cheeses, Fifth Town gets fresh milk from six local, environmentally conscious, partnering farms. Frozen milk or curd is never used in their cheese making, and the milk is hormone and antibiotic free. No modified milk ingredients are used.

“We are not receiving our milk from a co-op,” Kassun-Mutch explains. “We are actually picking it up ourselves. We go out each day to selected farms, bringing it (milk) back by 10:30 in the morning, and start to make cheese right away.”

Fifth Town’s fresh cheeses have a creamy, moist texture with no artificial additives. They include flavours like Garlic and Chives, Dill Weed and Lemon, and Lavender. The washed-rind varieties range from slightly salty, with complex aggressive flavours, to refined nutty, almost sweet lactic flavours. Washed-rind Cape Vessey is the top-selling cheese.

Lighthall Tomme, one of the hard varieties, was awarded first place in the Hard Aged Goat Cheese Category by the American Cheese Society in 2009. It offers a pleasant, light, almost nutty flavour, with a smooth, firm texture and a mild saltiness.

Last month, Fifth Town introduced County Quark, its newest cheese, in the retail shop at the creamery. County Quark is available in two flavours: Original and Maple. Quark is a type of fresh cheese made from cow’s milk, and is similar to cottage cheese. It is soft, white, unsalted and un-aged.

FIFTH TOWN ARTISAN CHEESE

  • 4309 County Road #8, Picton, Ontario  K0K 2T0  Telephone 613.476.5755
  • About 20 minutes east of Picton, 8 minutes east of Waupoos Winery

Fifth Town cheese can be purchased year-round from the retail store in the plant and at Black River Cheese and Sobeys in Prince Edward County, as well as at more 50 other locations throughout Ontario.

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese will be a featured cheesemaker at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination. Fifth Town cheese will be available for tasting at the All-Day Cheese-Tasting Seminar Program and Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Saturday and during Artisan Cheese & Food Fair on Sunday.

—Colleen Vickers-Kleywegt

A graduate of the post-graduate public relations program at Loyalist College, Colleen Vickers-Kleywegt is interning with the City of Quinte West. She loves to cook and bake and spend time with family, friends and her dog Bruiser.


Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Major Craig’s Chutney

Major Craig’s Chutney: From India, via Ottawa, with love

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Major Craig's great-great-grandson: Andrew Craig. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/Ottawa Citizen.

Have you ever had a favourite family recipe that your friends and family just couldn’t get enough of? That’s what happened to Andrew Craig of Ottawa with a chutney recipe that has a long family history.

For Christmas 2008, Andrew decided to gift his family and friends jars of the chutney they all loved and always asked for. He made three chutneys from the old family recipe called 1884 North India, Pomegranate Fig and a Date With Cranberry.

The gifts went over so well, he decided to put his 18 years in the food and beverage industry to good use. With the backing of his wife, and the urging from his father, Andrew named the chutneys after his great great-grandfather and put them on the market.

Major James Craig was a commissioned officer for the Indian Army in the late 1800s and worked for the East India Trading Company.  While in India, he created the family favorite recipe which was handed down over the next 125 years on an old recipe card.

Major Craig’s Chutney is made with locally grown produce. With an ingredient list that includes apples, onions, cranberries, squash and hot peppers all grown in Ontario, it is a tasty addition to the menu of those committed to the 100-mile diet.

Major Craig’s Chutney can be purchased online from OGourmet. They are also available from more than 30 stores in the Ottawa area as well as selected shops in Toronto and other Ontario locations. The Frazer Café in Ottawa features the chutneys on its menu.

Last month, the chutneys received the 2011 LIVERight Award, a distinction by the Canadian Liver Association to recognize food products that are healthy for the liver.

There are four chutneys made by Major Craig’s Chutney:

NORTH INDIA CHUTNEY

  • Discovered in 1884 by Major James Craig
  • A blend of sweet fruits, aromatic spices, onions and a hint of curry
  • A family favourite, served with grilled meats, chicken, burgers, mixed into stews and sauces, and even over top of fresh baked scones

A DATE WITH CRANBERRY

  • One of the original chutneys made as Christmas gifts
  • Made for special meals, it has become the new cranberry tradition for holiday meals
  • Especially good with roasted chicken, duck and pork chops

BIG PYTHON JERK CHUTNEY

  • A blend of sweet fruits and a mild Caribbean Jerk spice
  • Spread over meat before cooking, or toss it with some chicken wings
  • Fantastic with beef, with sour cream and nachos, burgers, and goat

WINTER BUTTERNUT AND BEER

  • Major Craig’s newest addition
  • Made with Beau’s all natural Lug Tread Laagered Ale, roasted butternut squash, red pepper, corn, apples and onions and spiced with fresh ginger and turmeric
  • Great for sandwiches, hotdogs, sausages, steaks, steamed veggies, rice and even on mashed potatoes

Major Craig’s Chutney will be a Featured Artisan Producer at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton. The heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s hot new wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.

—Gloria Fletcher

Gloria Fletcher has completed a post-grad Public Relations program at Loyalist College and currently is interning at Campbellford Memorial Hospital Foundation. She blogs about PR and other matters at Fletchgirl’s Blog.

Beau’s All-Natural Brewery, Beer, Great Canadian Cheese Festival

Beau’s: All-natural beer, all-family brewery, all Eastern Ontario

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Steve Beauchesne with his father, Tim, at Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company east of Ottawa.

The company logo says a great deal about the ethos of Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company with the old-fashioned tractor symbolizing the hard work of Eastern Ontario’s farmers and the close family ties that strengthen their businesses.

Father and son team Tim and Steve Beauchesne founded Beau’s All-Natural Brewery on July 1, 2006. The family-run brewery also employs members of the immediate Beauchesne clan, in-laws, and close friends who have become like family.

When Tim and Steve started Beau’s, the pair had no professional background brewing beer; Tim ran a textile manufacturing company, while Steve worked for the provincial government. The idea of starting a family brewery was born over a pint in 2004. By 2006 Steve had moved home and the pair opened their craft brewery in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, an hour’s drive east of Ottawa.

“The idea of starting a brewery with my Dad just seemed like too much fun to pass up,” Steve admits.

The team noticed a void in the craft brewing business in Eastern Ontario, compared to the oversaturated Toronto-area market. They decided to brew a beer that reflected the Eastern Ontario geography and culture, because, as Tim said, “Eastern Ontario needs a beer to call its own.”

The Beauchesne’s secured Matt O’Hara as the Beau’s brewmaster. Matt has previously worked for Canadian beer makers McAuslan Brewing in Montreal and Upper Canada Brewing Company in Guelph, Ontario.

They focused on using local, natural ingredients to craft their suds. Their beers are made with certified organic malts and hops, and local spring water. There are no chemicals or fillers, and Beau’s beers are unpasteurized to ensure their flavour is pure.

“There are many, many reasons for this: supporting our community, stewardship of the environment, caring for the health of our customers,” Steve says. “But when it comes down it, for me, the most important reason is that I believe that organic ingredients make a superior beer.”

The Beau’s company also prides itself on being “totally D.I.Y.” – they brew, bottle, sell, market, and deliver their own products.

For the Beauchesne family, being a locally focused brewery means contributing to the community. Since April 2010, Beau’s All Natural Brewery has raised over $104,000 toward charitable works, community building, and independent arts, surpassing their goal of raising $100,000 in one year.

Beau's brewmaster Matt O'Hara. Photo by Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen.

Beau’s All Natural Brewery began with a single beer, Lug Tread Lagered Ale, the company’s award winning, signature brew. In 2010, Lug Tread won Gold in the Kolsch category at the Canadian Brewing Awards.   Along with Lug Tread, Beau’s also offers a line of seasonal beers and their Wild Oats line – an experimental, limited-release series geared toward true beer fanatics.

“The idea of drinking only one beer every day just seems wrong to me and so it also seemed wrong to only brew one,” Steve said.

The Beau’s collection features:

Lug Tread Lagered Ale: The signature Beau’s beer, and its most popular brew. Crisp and golden-coloured, Lug Tread is top fermented like an ale, then cold-aged like a lager. Lug Tread tastes of malt and hop with delicate fruit flavours.

Beaver River I.P.Eh?: This Spring seasonal offering is the Beau’s take on an India Pale Ale, combining European and North American brewing styles. It’s a hoppy, strong beer (at 5.5 per cent alc./vol.) tasting of citrus and earth.

Festivale Alt Beer: The Summer seasonal beer celebrates the Eastern Ontario festival season, and was first crafted for the Ottawa Jazz Festival. Alt is a German-style beer, and this interpretation is crisp and light tasting, with caramel flavours.

Night Marzen Oktoberfest Lager: Beau’s Fall beer, Night Marzen is a traditional harvest brew, with bready malt flavours and noticeable hops. It was created in 2008 to celebrate Oktoberfest and the Eastern Ontario harvest season.

Bog Water Gruit Ale: Bog Water, Beau’s Winter seasonal beverage, was inspired by the Alfred Bog, an Eastern Ontario landmark. The beer features a truly unique hop replacement: bog myrtle, an herb commonly used in brewing during the 16th century. Bog Water is a malty beer that tastes of an earthy bitterness with notes of plum.

BEAU’S ALL-NATURAL BREWING COMPANY

10 Terry Fox Drive, Vankleek Hill, Ontario  K0B 1R0   Toll-free 1.866.585.BEER

Beau’s brews are available at select LCBO stores, the Beau’s All Natural Brewery and at pubs and restaurants.

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company will be a Featured Craft Brewer at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival taking place June 4-5 at Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination. Beau’s beers will be available for tasting at tghe All-Day Cheese-Tasting Seminar Program and Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Saturday and during Artisan Cheese & Food Fair on Sunday.

—Phoebe Powell

Phoebe Powell, CheeseLover.ca’s roving reporter, is based Ottawa and has been known to lift a pint, with or without cheese at hand.