The American Cheese Society’s 40th conference is underway this week in Des Moines, with nonstop tastings and educational sessions and—always a highlight—the awards ceremony for the competition winners. I’ll report next week on the victors, but I’m betting on five newish creameries, in particular, to bring home some ribbons. Four of the five have been making cheese for less than 10 years and the fifth is only a year older. With their consistently top-notch output, these newcomers give me hope for the future of American artisan cheesemaking.

Face Rock Creamery (Bandon, OR) specializes in Cheddar. The cheesemaker is Brad Sinko, formerly with Beecher’s in Seattle, where he created the acclaimed Beecher’s Flagship, Flagship Reserve and Flagsheep. Ten years ago, Sinko came home to Bandon and helped rebuild a demolished cheese plant that had once anchored the town. His Extra Aged Cheddar, made in a rindless block, is a great value. It’s creamy and mellow, with the acidity you expect in a traditional Cheddar but less bite. Face Rock’s Clothbound Cheddar, aged 13 months, is also superb, and the mixed-milk (cow-sheep) Clothbound Cheddar called Face 2 Face is equally impressive.

Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy (Allegheny County, PA) seemed to burst on the scene last year with an awards magnet named Bamboozle. This mixed-milk wheel won its category at the 2022 World Championship Cheese contest, then went on to top its category at the American Cheese Society judging and to place third overall, out of 1,400 entries. Launched in 2015, Goat Rodeo uses its own goat’s milk plus purchased cow’s milk for Bamboozle, a 9-pound wheel washed with beer and aged for a couple of months. I’ve tried it only twice but was blown away with its quality both times. Note the supple texture, roasted peanut aroma and thin rind. I can’t wait to see what else this family-owned farm has in store for us.

Mystic Cheese (Groton, CT) showcases the cheesemaking chops of Brian Civitello, who has a milelong résumé, and the marketing smarts of his partner, Jason Sobocinski. Civitello truly loves his craft and he’s creating cheeses that resemble no others. I’d be hard-pressed to say whether I’m more smitten with his soft, squishy mushroom-scented Melinda Mae or his latest introduction, the buttery, crumbly Finback. Melinda Mae is sorta, kinda inspired by northern Italy’s robiola, and the Finback recipe has much in common with France’s Cantal, but both cheeses make their own unique statement.

Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville, CA) is the oldster of this group, with a creamery that opened in 2012. Sarah Cahn Bennett, the proprietor of this postcard-pretty goat and sheep farm, comes from a renowned winemaking family, and she makes wine as well, but it’s the cheeses that make me wish I lived closer. (You can visit the farm, by reservation.) The cheeses are mixed milk when the sheep are producing (spring and summer), 100 percent goat’s milk the rest of the year. My favorites from cheesemaker Erika McKenzie-Chapter repertoire: the fresh, rindless, lemony Laychee; and the 3- to 4-month-old Boont Corners, a raw-milk tomme with a faint caramel flavor and a natural rind.

Stepladder Creamery (Cambria, CA) won an ACS blue ribbon last year for its clothbound goat Cheddar, which I don’t recall tasting. I like Stepladder’s triple-cream Ragged Point but a lot of producers make comparable triple creams. What stands out for me is the Paso Vino, a firm, nutty cow’s milk tomme soaked in local Syrah.