Peter Zien, former finance guy, buys a brewery called AleSmith Brewery, does well, and then, well, he’s not done! He’s curious about other fermented items. Like cheese. So he builds a tiny creamery in a corner of the brewery, calls it CheeseSmith, and starts experimenting.
Every Thursday Peter makes cheese in a small vat. It’s mostly curds, plain and flavored - but sometimes he creates a swiss or a cheddar or a brined-in-beer experiment. He won an award at American Cheese Society Judging (very prestigious!) for his Lime & Chili Cheese Curds. Also won a Good Food Award. Show up to the brewery, and be surprised by his weekly recipe. When I visited, his plain curds had been tinted orange with annatto, because, well, why not?
“I thought I’d figure out if people prefer a white curd or a slightly orange one.” (They taste the same, by the way. Annatto is a natural coloring.)
Peter is also a beekeeper. He had to last-minute cancel his visit with me because the queen bee was arriving, and he couldn’t very well leave royalty on the front porch until he was done showing me around. Some things definitely take precedence. And I was fine with that.
Then there’s coffee roasting, baking, growing heirloom tomatoes, guitar playing & drawing/painting. Life is just too darn exciting to stick with one thing.
The brewery is fun. The cheese is only available there. But what a combo. Just at the end of AleSmith Court in San Diego, you’ll find a vast space with tables, beer barrels and very happy servers behind the counter. You can tell they like working there. The place is hopping.
Cheese + Beer = Yes.If you’re in San Diego, definitely stop by.
