Grand Cacao Beer Cheese, four words that instantly make me hungry, also a new cheese collab with Tröegs

A big bag of Unique Snacks‘ Sourdough Craft Beer Pretzel Rings is now my preferred beer snack of choice. The only reason I know about these big, delicious pretzeled Os is because of Tröegs Independent Brewing’s and Unique Snacks’ Better Together campaign that paired Tröegs next level craft beers with Unique Snacks’ otherworldly pretzels. The brand suddenly jumped off the shelf to me, so the campaign worked. Now, they are a staple in the CBB offices.

Tröegs has continued to catch my attention lately for its cool food collabs that highlight fellow Pennsylvania-based businesses. Here’s another example: Tröegs again teamed up with The GIANT Company grocery store chain and Caputo Brothers Creamery of Spring Grove, Pa., to debut a fourth limited-edition beer cheese — this time using the Hershey, Pa., brewery’s newest year-round beer, Grand Cacao Chocolate Stout. Like the other three cheeses, Grand Cacao Beer Cheese is made with milk from Pennsylvania dairy farms. Both sound glorious, but what’s in this cheese exactly?

Grand Cacao Beer Cheese starts with 100 percent Pennsylvania cow’s milk. Can you think of better cow’s milk? Wisconsin? Yeah, that’s good milk too. Anyway, at Caputo’s York County creamery, cheesemakers bathe (yes, bathe) the curds in Grand Cacao, which features notes of milk chocolate, roasty grain and hints of sweet cream. The addition of Calabrian peperoncini adds flecks of color and elevated spiciness. This beer cheese also has another important ingredient. From the press release:

“These beer cheeses are literally saving local dairy farms,” says Caputo Brothers President Rynn Caputo. “We pride ourselves not only on making cheese that tastes good, but also does good. And so far, these beer cheeses have helped two Pennsylvania dairies stay in business.”

Other cheese news

And with the holidays on the horizon, don’t miss the return of Mad Elf Beer Cheese, which debuted last October and quickly became a fan favorite. Also made with 100 percent Pennsylvania cow’s milk, Mad Elf Beer Cheese is a creamy, savory, and sweet cheese with notes of cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, and honey.

Both Grand Cacao Beer Cheese and Mad Elf Beer Cheese are available while supplies last at GIANT, MARTIN’S and GIANT Heirloom Market locations. Select beer cheeses are also available for delivery via caputobrotherscreamery.com or in person at Tröegs.