When it’s too hot to drink wine in wine country (and last week it was), I reach for Kölsch. This brisk German beer style is crisp, thirst-quenching and low in alcohol—usually under 5 percent ABV—so you don’t need to head for the nearest couch after your meal. I love Kölsch with marinated cheeses, feta, mozzarella, burrata—fresh or lightly aged cheeses that won’t overwhelm it.
Pale straw in color and pristinely clear, Kölsch delivers subtle malty flavor without weight. It has little or no hoppy bitterness, and it finishes fresh and dry. The name is protected, so authentic Kölsch comes only from Cologne. Reissdorf is a well-known German brand and a good introduction to the style, but I also enjoy Fort Point KSA and Calicraft’s Coast, both Kölsch-style ales from California.
For a summer meal on a sizzling day, chill a six-pack of Kölsch and assemble a cheese and charcuterie board. Add olives, pickled vegetables and taralli or other favorite crackers. Your friends won’t notice that you didn’t cook a thing.
A few cheeses that welcome a Kölsch:
Laura Chenel Marinated Goat Cheese with Thyme & Rosemary (pictured above): I love the picnic-ready packaging in little pails. Just pop the top and turn the contents out on a plate. Bring fully to room temperature for maximum creaminess, then spread on crostini. The disks are sliced from a larger log and packed in soybean and olive oil. (Olive oil alone would congeal in the fridge.) To improve the flavor, lift them out of the marinade and drizzle with fresh extra virgin olive oil.
Fresh from Périgord: Fleur Verte
Fleur Verte: Made in France’s Périgord region, this fresh five-pound goat cheese is coated with dried thyme, tarragon and crushed pink peppercorns. The flavor is moist and lemony, and the aroma will transport you to Provence. Pair with Niçoise olives and salumi.
Meredith Dairy Sheep & Goat Cheese: A farmstead cheese from Australia, where it is the top-selling marinated cheese, these pudgy cubes are moist, soft and creamy, richer and less tangy than similar products made entirely with goat’s milk. The oil (canola and olive) smells of thyme, black pepper and garlic.
Summer on a plate: burrata, nectarines, tomato
Mini Burrata from Gioia or Di Stefano: A whole 8-ounce burrata is a commitment. Once you cut into that oozy interior, you have to finish it. But a baby burrata—half the usual size—is just right for two. A burrata, nectarine and tomato salad may be your new favorite summer lunch.
Good Culture Cottage Cheese: The flavor is rich, buttery and mellow, with a buttermilk scent. The small curds are moist and tender, cloaked in a light, tangy cream dressing. Fold in chives and diced cucumbers and serve with pumpernickel toast.
Crucolo: This cow’s milk cheese from Northern Italy’s Trentino region tastes like a young Asiago or Havarti but better, with a buttery aroma and a moist, open, tender texture. It finishes with a cultured-milk tang, and it melts beautifully. Made by a single family in the Dolomite mountains, Crucolo isn’t widely distributed in the U.S., but online merchant igourmet stocks it.