2011 American Cheese Society Competition – Select Winners

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One of our favorite cheese memories was hanging with the Cheese Swells last year in Seattle for the 2010 ACS Conference. Fortunately or unfortunately (looking at it from both sides), The Lady spent this year’s ACS Conference time in Denver opening a new Murray’s Cheese at the Glendale King Soopers.

On Friday, the ACS announced its 2011 cheese competition winners and the Pacific Northwest brought home the Best of Show for the second time in the past three years with Rogue River Blue. It was a bittersweet win for David Gremmels and Cary Bryant of Central Point, Oregon’s Rogue Creamery. The American Artisan Cheese World lost its Godfather, Ig Vella, this year and in the early 2000’s Ig sold Rogue Creamery to David and Cary… but only after teaching them to make cheese… Ig was a very wise man in so many ways but to require the men to learn the art was one of his wisest demands…

For a complete list of winners, please click here.

The list below is of partial winners; all of which The Lady and I have reviewed:

Best of Show: Rogue River Blue

2^nd Place (Tie): Carr Valley’s Cave Aged Marisa

 

Winners in their respective categories:

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese’s Mascarpone (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Mascarpone (3^rd)

Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam (2^nd)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Coupole (2^nd)

Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog Grande (3^rd)

Beecher’s Flagsheep (3^rd)

Sartori’s Reserve BellaVitano Gold (3^rd)

Tumalo Farm’s Rimrocker (2^nd)

Sartori’s Limited Edition Pastorale Blend (3^rd)

Beehive Cheese Company’s Barely Buzzed (1^st)

Rogue Creamery’s Chocolate Stout Cheddar (3^rd)

Beecher’s Marco Polo Reserve (1^st)

Beecher’s Four Year Flagship (2^nd)

Tillamook County Creamery Association’s Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar (3^rd)

Beecher’s Flagship Reserve (3^rd)

DCI Cheese Company’s Salemville Blue Cheese (2^nd)

DCI Cheese Company’s Black River Gorgonzola (3^rd)

Hook’s Cheese Company’s Little Boy Blue (1^st)… Boy did The Lady and miss it on this one…

Emmi Roth USA’s Gran Queso (2^nd)

BelGioioso’s Cheese’s Sharp Provolone Mandarino (3^rd)

Sartori’s Sarvecchio Parmesan (1^st)

BelGioioso’s Burrata (1^st)

Sartori’s Reserve Black Pepper BellaVitano (1^st)

Beecher’s Smoked Flagship (3^rd)

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese’s Petit Frere Reserve (3^rd)

Tumalo Farms’ Classico (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Crottin (3^rd)

Sartori’s Reserve Merlot BellaVitano (3^rd)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s Crème Fraiche (1^st)

Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s Cultured Butter (3^rd)

LaClare Farms Specialties’ Evalon (1^st)

Uplands Cheese’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve (1^st)

Consider Bardwell Farm’s Rupert (2^nd)

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars’ Washed Rind Traditional Brick (3^rd)

 

The Lady and I have at least 100 more cheeses to review and many of them won awards at this year’s ACS Competition including the following winners:

Tillamook County Creamery’s Monterey Jack; Tillamook County Creamery’s Colby; Carr Valley’s Cocoa Cardona; Carr Valley’s Cave Aged Mellage; Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery’s Cremont (including an ice cream using Cremont); Carr Valley’s Caso Bolo Mellage;Carr Valley’s Billy Blue; Rogue Creamery’s Echo Mountain; Cello Riserva Copper Kettle Parmesan; Sartori’s Reserve Espresso BellaVitano; Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy’s Green Chile Jack; Emmi Roth’s Rofumo; Spring Brook’s Tarentaise; Cypress Grove’s Purple Haze… stay tuned…

 

Up next on the blog (later today): Looking Back… Looking Forward: Cheesemonger’s Weblog Celebrates it’s Third Year Anniversary This Week… that’s a lot of blogging…