Rich Gustafson’s first attempt at cheese-flavored beer didn’t work out so well. As the official Flavor Infusion Specialist at 16 Mile Brewery on the outskirts of Georgetown, Gustafson’s job is all about mutating and twisting the dials on the flavors of his favorite microbrews. You name the ingredient, and he’s soaked it, steeped it or blended it into beer. Peppercorns, thyme, coriander seeds—they all go in. Cranberries. Oak chips. Popcorn. Smoked apples. Beef jerky. Elbow macaroni. But even Gustafson winces at Cheese Beer Trial Batch 1.0. It’s the nature of the experiment. A few batches later, through tweaks, persistence and the collaboration of sous chef Ben MacGuinness, Gustafson was ready to unveil his findings to the beer-drinking scientific community. Upstairs, 80 miles away at the 16 Mile Taphouse in downtown Newark, glasses of Cheese Beer Beta plonked onto tables about halfway into a private, five-course beer-infusion dinner. It was great. So was the food, proving that the 16 Mile Taphouse is a great place to eat and drink. Find out why DT dining critic Matt Amis thinks so here.
