When cheese meets beer

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Amongst the rolling hills

Venus Blue is a sheep’s milk blue cheese made by Prom Country Cheese in South Gippsland, Victoria.

Nestled amongst the rolling hills in the lush Moyarra Valley, lies the Brandon family farm. The farm is home to a small herd of 150 grass-fed sheep which are cared for and milked by Bronwyn and Burke Brandon.

How Venus Blue is made

Undoubtedly, the farm’s ewes produce an exceptionally creamy autumn milk that is perfect for cheese making. As a matter of fact, Burke exclusively uses this seasonal milk to make their signature cheese. 

Furthermore, he uses in-house cultures that have been sourced from the ewes’ own raw milk and vegetarian rennet. As a result of this, Venus Blue is a celebration of the local South Gippsland terroir.

Afterwards, he loosely packs the resulting curds to create an open texture. This allows the mould to form beautiful blue pockets during maturation. Finally, the wheels spend a minimum of 5 months in the cellar before being released for sale from January to August.

Flavour profile

Venus Blue has a greyish-white natural rind wrapped around an off-white soft and creamy pâte that is mottled with pockets of blue.

Moreover, its robust aroma is reminiscent of fresh grass and barnyard. Despite its robust aroma, this blue cheese has a mild and savoury flavour with a very soft finish.

How to serve

Enjoy with blueberries, dark chocolate and a late harvest Pinot Gris.

Moreover, this multi-awarded cheese is the perfect blue for a cheese platter but can also be a spectacular addition to a salad or pasta.

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Victoria’s first raw milk cheese

Cultures from the Venus Blue

Initially, they isolated the microbial cultures that live in their raw milk in a laboratory. They then added those cultures back to pasteurised milk to make their signature cheese, the Venus Blue.

This process means that the Venus Blue has qualities that are unique to their farm.

A team effort

Working together with like-minded industry partners, the couple successfully lobbied the local regulators for the introduction of new food safety regulations.

Those regulations would allow the production of raw milk cheeses in Australia, albeit under very strict guidelines.

Burke and Bronwyn spent two years developing a new cheese that would meet those requirements. In order to do so, they had to upgrade their food safety plan and procedures.

In March 2020, the regulators finally granted them approval to produce a specific raw milk cheese. Their milk would have to pass strict hygiene testing and come from only healthy udders.

Meet Moyarra Reserve

For Moyarra Reserve, the ewe’s milk and curds are not cooked (pasteurised) at any stage of the process.

Instead, a pre-ripened mother culture is added right back at the dairy, as the raw milk flows from the udders into the vat.

Very strict requirements

Furthermore, all of their equipment has to be sanitised, including the ewes’ teats prior to milking. A mixture of morning and evening milk is immediately transferred to the cheesemaking vat to be warmed back to body temperature.

The wheels of cheese must meet a maximum moisture percentage limit before being hand salted with sea salt for the next 3 days. For this reason, Moyarra Reserve must be matured at 12°c for over 5 months. At that point, it has to pass extensive final lab testing to guarantee it is safe to eat.

A celebration of terroir

The end product is a cheese that could not possibly be made anywhere else in the world. Producing such a raw milk cheese is certainly made expensive by all the restrictions currently in place in Australia. However, Burke and Bronwyn firmly believe that it is well worth it.

Farmhouse cheesemakers are best equipped to make raw milk cheeses in Australia because they are in full control of every step of the process. They can ensure that the milk quality and manufacturing processes all meet the brief that has been laid out by the food authorities.

How to enjoy Moyarra Reserve

At 5 months, the cheese develops a thin rusty-red coloured rind that wraps around a straw-coloured pâte. Moreover, the aroma is a little bit wild and the texture is reminiscent of the famous French sheep’s milk cheese, Ossau-Iraty.

On the palate, this stellar cheese is savoury with some notes of caramel and a subtly spicy finish. Furthermore, the edible rind adds a bit of crunch and has more concentrated earthy flavours.

Enjoy with a crunchy baguette, some extra virgin olive oil and smoked dukkah. Pair with a sweet Riesling or Sauternes.

What next?

So, where does all of that leave us? Raw milk cheeses certainly provide the best way to let the milk shine with minimal intervention. Having said that, it does not mean that all raw milk cheeses are better than pasteurised milk cheeses. There are some spectacular artisanal pasteurised milk cheeses out there, both made locally and imported.

Without a doubt, Moyarra Reserve is a landmark cheese for Victoria. We can expect it to pave the way for many more raw milk cheeses. And we can not wait!

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Crafted in South Gippsland

Sheep Sensation by Prom Country Cheese is a bloomy rind soft cheese made with pasteurised sheep’s milk in Moyarra, South Gippsland. It draws it inspiration from the wrinkly lactic cheeses of Southern France.

Nestled amongst the rolling hills in the lush Moyarra Valley, lies the Brandon family farm. On the farm, Bronwyn and Burke Brandon lovingly care for their small herd of 150 grass-fed sheep. Moreover, they also milk all their animals themselves, and make cheese with their milk.

A seasonal cheese

During springtime, Burke collects the rich milk from his ewes to make this soft cheese. Actually, he uses pasteurised milk, rennet and cultures derived from their raw milk .

At 3-5 days, this soft cheese is quite fresh and creamy. However, it truly comes into its own at 2 weeks and can mature up to 3 months.

From 2 weeks, it has a wrinkly natural rind wrapped around a pristine white centre and an oozy ivory coloured cream line. Overall, its aroma is refreshing and grassy and its mouthfeel luscious. On the palate, this ewe’s milk cheese is lactic and sweet with a sour cream finish that lingers.

How to eat Sheep Sensation

Enjoy this sensational soft cheese at room temperature with an American-style Pale Ale or a Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc blend.

Serve on a local cheese platter with Riverine Blue and Mepunga Gruyère.

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Champion blue cheese in 2018

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The jewel in the crown

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Seductively luscious

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Made in South Gippsland

Riverine Blue is a blue cheese handmade in South Gippsland by Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese. Actually, its name comes from the herd of Riverine buffaloes whose milk is used to make the cheese.

Berrys Creek Cheese was established in 2007 by Barry Charlton and his partner Cheryl. At their cheesemaking facility in Fish Creek, they hand make some of Australia’s best artisanal cheeses using buffalo’s and cow’s milk.

Suitable for vegetarians

Moreover, all of their cheeses are also suitable for vegetarians because they use vegetarian rennet to curdle the milk. Their range includes a selection of blue cheeses with some soft cheeses.

Their signature cheese, the Riverine Blue is matured for a minimum of 2 months. At this point, it develops a slightly crumbly texture but still has a buttery mouthfeel.

This is a blue cheese that will delight avid blue cheese fans and hesitant novices alike. Despite its aggressive blue-green striations, it still has a delicate savoury flavour with a lingering lactic sweetness.

How to pair Riverine Blue

Enjoy with a smoky Scotch Whisky or a barrel aged Gin.

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