A beer with roasted malts that have coffee
notes is the perfect pairing with Beehive’s coffee-rubbed cheese, Barely Buzzed.

Learning elementary Cheddar-making at the local agricultural college, they opened a shop that also stocked other artisans’ cheeses, plus coffee beans from one of the owners’ brothers, a roaster in Colorado. One cold January morning, inspiration struck to pat some ground Turkish coffee onto some wheels of their Cheddar. The local hit—dubbed Barely Buzzed by the winner of a naming contest—became the first prize winner at the American Cheese Society Competition in 2007 and 2008 (the 2009 competition takes place this week).

We knew none of this when we stumbled upon Barely Buzzed a few months back at the Winter Fancy Food Show. We only know an eye-opening Cheddar when we taste one. Beehive Cheese Co. makes more than one charming cheese, and the Cheddar champs have proved that Amano Chocolate (founded by another Utah software industry emigré) isn’t the only artisan food from the Beehive State that can compete in the bee-g time.

• Read all the buzz about Beehive Cheese in the full review.
• Check out more Top Pick Of The Week cheeses.
• Beehive’s coffee-rubbed Cheddar isn‘t the only beer-friendly cheese (it’s great with a beer made with roasted malts that bring out coffee flavors in the beer). Take a look at our beer & wine pairing chart.