Mont St. Francis
- Producer
- Capriole Farmstead Goat Cheeses
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Indiana
- Size
- 6-8 ins diameter x 2 ins height
- Weight
- 2-3 lbs
- Website
- www.capriolegoatcheese.com
- Milk
- Goat
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Washed
- Style
- Washed-Rind
- Flavor
- Flavor added to rind
A tribute to the monks of Europe and their love for booze-washed cheese, "The Mont" is a goat's milk cheese bathed in Russian Imperial Stout as it ages.
The cheese is named after a retreat near Indiana-based Capriole Goat Cheeses that once housed a Franciscan monastery.
It's one of about a dozen different goat's milk cheeses crafted across a wide spectrum of styles at Capriole by Judy Schad. Schad is among the small handful of cheesemakers in the United States who were at the forefront of the farmstead cheese revolution, and she's vastly contributed to shaping the movement's future.
Schad has been making cheese here since 1976, when she and her husband moved with their three young children from the suburbs to a farm in southern Indiana. They sought a sustainable lifestyle, a milk cow, and lots of gardens. When they ran the title on their new farm, they discovered that it had belonged to Judy's husband's great-great-grandfather in the 1870s.
Tasting Notes
When young, the texture of Mont St. Francis is fairly firm and slightly brittle, becoming softer and more supple with age.
Flavors are intense, beefy, and earthy, and the cheese has an intensely pungent aroma that is not for the faint-of-heart.
Pairings
Because Mont St. Francis' flavors are quite extreme, it pairs well with bourbon or fruity, fortified wines and sweet condiments. It's also excellent alongside bitter beers.
