Anybody ever do any cheesemaking along with their brewing?

[edisonst]

Brewing has really started to get me interested in other "homesteading" hobbies like sausage making, charcuterie ect.. I was thinking about doing some cheeses but im afraid to introduce to many bacterias into my brewing area. I already have maxed out my fridge and freezer quota and was thinking about aging some cheeses in my kegerator. Is this asking for trouble? Im not the biggest fan of sour beers so I dont want to end up with a flanders style brewery. Cheese making uses alot of cultures like lacto...not sure if its the same strain or not..I dont know what a bleu cheese pale ale tastes like but im sure its nasty. Is it worth the risk, or should I stick to only one of the fermented arts.

[Elbone]

I have several books on cheesemaking but have never taken the leap. If I could find a local source of raw milk that might push me over the edge. I can imagine SWAMBO's eyes rolling as I even think about it.

[animaldoc]

Making abatch of Feta, Mozzarella, and riccotta using the leftover whey from the Feta and Mozzarella as we speak (er, type. And that's the royal we, unless you happen to be typing at the same time as I am )

I make the cheese in the kitchen, and for the most part my brewing is in the garage until the beer is in the fermenter, then I bring it in and oxygenate and pitch my starter in the kitchen.

There's lacto everywhere in the kitchen. If you are making clean beer, and practice good sanitation, I don't think you have to worry about cheese. I'm more worried when I bake bread because flour floats, milk doesn't.

As far as aging cheese in your kegerator ..... why not? Your beer is safely protected in a positive pressure vessel. Keep your cheese in a tupperware container so you don't leak whey you should be fine. Wipe things down periodically with StarSan if you are worried!

[animaldoc]

Forgot to say ..... JUMP!!!!!!!!

The fresh cheeses taste much better than store bought even using store bought milk.
Building a press this week so should have some provolone, gouda, and cheddar in the works soon.

[edisonst]

Thanks for the replies. I am definately going to do this cheese thing. One thing homebrewing has taught me is patience, and cheese making seem to need a lot of that too so im in. Whole foods carries a really good creamline cows milk from Southern Va, along with sheep and goat. Ive seen stuff on cow shares online but i dont know if im there yet. One thing I can always eat with my homebrew is some good cheese...and some bacon...and sausage...and some good bread.

[bigdan]

My wife is starting to make cheese. I was concerned about the kegarator not being appropriate temps for the cheese aging, not to mention it's is hard to keep clean. What temperature do hard cheeses usually age and how much can it swing?

[Sparge Pervert]

Coooool!

I'm love cheese & am keen to make some. I bought the gf a cheesemaking book recently for her birthday as she loves cheese too, so am hoping that we'll be making some soon.

Does anyone know of any good cheese forums?

[Sparge Pervert]

I did a bit of a google & this seemed to be the only one I could find:

http://cheeseforum.org

I dont really have time to get into it atm as I'm at work. Will give it a good look later though.