5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. Editor's Note: Emiliano Lee is the Artisan Market Manager at Farmshop in Los Angeles, California. He also serves as a judge for the American Cheese Society. One of, if not the most, frequently asked questions I field on the cheese counter is, “What's your favorite?” To which I almost always reply, “Well, that depends.” What's ripe? What's tasting particularly good at any given moment? What am I in the mood for? What's the weather like? What am I drinking? Ah, yes, the age-old pairing question. In the end, it really does boil down to personal taste, but there are certainly some combinations that work better than others. Many people want to pair wine and cheese, and while I can dance to that, I'm personally more of the malt and hops persuasion. For me, beer is a more natural choice, and as many others will attest to, it plays tremendously well with cheese. Looking at my cheese case right now, here are a five wheels that are tasting particularly nice along with some of their best drinking buddies. 1. Extra Mature Bandage Wrapped Cheddar by Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese (Modesto, California) This traditional, farmhouse-style English cheddar speaks to the passion and skill of its cheesemaker, Mariano Gonzalez. This raw milk beauty has won the top spot twice at the World Cheese Awards in London, beating the British on their home turf. Its dense texture crumbles and melts creamy on the palate, bringing out various sweet and savory notes. Think butter and toasted nuts with hints of caramel and pineapple. Its complexity lends well across the board to many types of beverages (it pairs just as nicely with reds as whites when it comes to wine), but what could be more fitting to pair with a good farmhouse cheddar than a nice hearty ale? There are few pleasures more satisfying. For some fun, one of my favorite pairings is Lagunitas Brewing Company's India Pale Ale . With the beer's combination of bold hoppiness and deep malty foundation, the complexity of flavor in the cheddar steps up and sings right in tune. Add a hearty rye bread and some pickles and call it a meal. For a mellower combination, pair with your favorite brown ale or special bitter to bring out the buttery notes and bright fruit. 2. Vivace by Andante Dairy (Petaluma, California) Cheesemaker Soyoung Scanlan has a reputation for creating some of the finest small batch cheeses available. While we've been familiar with her beautifully crafted goat cheeses reminiscent of the finest you'll find abroad, she has only recently begun to incorporate sheep’s milk from a nearby farm into her repertoire. Vivace is a blend of sheep's and goat's milk with a delicate rind that holds in an unctuous paste that develops from the outside-in. The creamy texture instantly coats the palate in tongue-smacking delight. Flavors are rich, yet fresh and bright, with sweet hay notes lingering on the finish. Alpine Beer Company concocts just the beverage to wash this one down: Willy. This beer is full-flavored, yet light enough to be crisp and nutty at the same time. The effervescence cuts through the rich paste of the cheese, leaving you with a mildly sweet finish and bringing out grass in the nose. In lieu of Willy, pair with a wheat beer of your choice or even a lighter red ale to bring out more of the musky animal notes if that's your kick. 3. Winnimere by Jasper Hill Farm (Greensboro, Vermont) Andy and Mateo Kehler started Jasper Hill Farm in 2003 and have, in a short several years, become one of this country's preeminent sources for American farmstead cheeses. Their Winnimere cheese is wrapped in spruce bark from Jasper Hill's own trees and washed with ale from a neighboring brewery. It's best enjoyed by simply peeling back the top rind, allowing the bark to act as a bowl and digging in with a spoon or just a hunk of crusty bread. The silky texture wraps itself around your tongue with a symphony of flavors: sweet, smoky, salty, creamy, fruity, woodsy, beefy. A friend now famously likened it to taking a walk through the bacon forest. One of my favorite things to have alongside this cheese is dried tart cherries, so a lambic cherry beer like Timmermans Kriek is a perfect pairing with this seasonal wonder. The carbonation helps break down the cheese and bring out individual flavors. The light tartness complements the savory qualities of the cheese, and the cheese itself tones down the sweetness of the beer. 4. Nicasio Reserve by Nicasio Valley Cheese Company (Nicasio, California) A relative newcomer to the farmstead and artisanal cheese scene, the Lafranchi family has been producing some consistently good cheese in a very short period of time. One of those cheeses is Nicasio Reserve. The Lafranchi family went to their roots in Valle Maggia, Switzerland, to learn the craft and bring it home to their Marin County farm. Nicasio Reserve is an Alpine-style cheese that's dense and creamy with a light fruity funk on the nose. Across the palate, the impressive sweet cream flavor of their milk (certified organic, by the way) hits you right off the bat before mellowing into a complex play of stone fruits, grass and hazelnuts. The sweet cream follows through once more on the finish. This cheese instills warmth, as does the beer I've paired with it: California Ale from Telegraph Brewing . It may be a flavorful medium-bodied beer for a flavorful medium-bodied cheese, but by no means is it a medium-bodied experience. 5. MT  TAM by Cowgirl Creamery (Point Reyes Station, California) Wherever it's offered, when properly cared for and represented, this cheese is one of the most popular and best-selling – and for good reason. Unlike other more readily available and one-dimensional cheeses, MT TAM has more to offer than its big buttery base. When ripe, the center of the wheel is soft and luxurious. It's  often likened to vanilla ice cream, and something I'll often eat with whatever seasonal preserves I'm in love with at the moment. However, this puppy can match up with bold and savory just as well. It's one of the few sweet, creamy cheeses you'll want to pair with a good Pinot. Triple creams love bubbles. While sparkling wine is a natural match, I like something with a bit more body and flair. In this case, I would suggest Grand Cru, a Belgian-style ale from AleSmith Brewing Company . The bubbles cut through the butterfat, allowing the sweet cream to meld with the various flavors encased in this hefty bottle. Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down.

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5@5 – Cheeses that pair well with beer

Cue the “Mission: Impossible” music. “Your mission, Mr. Lendon, should you accept it, is to attend one of the world’s foremost sporting events and eat from the concessions all day for under $15.” This is crazy, I say to myself. Can’t be done. For the 2011 Super Bowl, a single beer was $10 , a soda $6.  At a regular season L.A. Dodgers game, a hot dog sets you back $5. And this is Augusta National Golf Club , the best of the best for golf. Nevertheless, I set off on my mission. Mission log follows. 0910 hours: In the gates of Augusta National and heading up the first fairway. Map shows concessions back by Hole No. 3. 0920 hours: Stand sighted. No lines. And breakfast served until 1000 hours. I move in. 0921 hours: I’ve secured a chicken biscuit and a coffee. Cost, $1.50 for the biscuit, $1 for the java. But now I have to eat it. 0928 hours: Consumed. Ravenously. The biscuit was good sized, seemed a bit bigger than Chick-fil-A. The biscuit itself is good, not too doughy. The chicken still juicy despite spending time in the foil bag. Coffee is hot, dark and strong. I usually drink it black, but I need two half-and-halfs on this one. Guy next to meet at the condiment bar says he should’ve asked for half coffee, half hot water. 0930-1230 hours: Watching golf’s best knock it around. I’ve had tougher assignments. 1232 hours: Lunch. Down near the end of Hole No. 10. I’ve been told when at the Masters the pimento cheese sandwich is a must. I’ve never had one, but orders are orders. And the $1.50 price tag fits the parameters of the mission. I add on the Masters kettle-cooked potato chips , $1, and a light blue concoction labeled “sport drink,” $1.50. Wanted the Diet Coke, but figured I should avoid any more caffeine in the hot sun. Total hit: $4. 1234 hours: The concession area is crowded, but a nice couple from Houston offers me a spot at their table. They’ve earned my trust so I confide my mission to them – they express amazement that I live in Atlanta and have never had pimento cheese before. But they assure me I’ll like it. 1236 hours: First bite. Hmmm. I chew slowly. The woman senses my trepidation. “You’ll love it by the end,” she says. “It gets better as it goes along.” 1240 hours: The lady is right. Yummy! The couple from Houston has moved on, so I share my excitement with three guys from Omaha who’ve replaced them. They find my assignment amusing, but they doubt my chances for success. “I just spent $8 for two egg salad sandwiches and this beer,” one says. My point exactly. And his math is off. Even if he got the import beer, at $3.75, he’d have only spent $6.75 as the egg salad sandwiches are $1.50 each. 1440 hours: Watching the Par 3 tournament and stomach rumbling. Must make a move. I’m thinking white chocolate, macadamia nut cookie, just like the one I thought about tacking on to lunch. 1443 hours: In line. 1445 hours: Served. And thrown a curveball. (Sorry to mix sports metaphors. I’m time pressed.) No cookies on the Par 3 course. And no beer either. Curious, that. I get the Snickers bar as the commercials say they really satisfy. 1447 hours: Snickers really does satisfy. Especially at $1. 1450-1529 hours: Par 3 action, including watching three of the game’s greats, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Watching Palmer makes me want one of those half lemonade, half ice tea drinks. Thanks for coming up with that one, Arnie. 1530 hours: Thunderstorms rolling in to Augusta. Play is stopped and the course is cleared. 1620 hours: Play is canceled for the day and the course closes all concessions. I’ll need to tap other resources to complete my three-meal mission. 1621 hours: I check the concession price board. I can get the same things in the press area, which is still open. And they are the same. I go with the ham and cheese on rye, $2.50, the $1 kettle chips again (I really do like those) and a domestic beer., $3. Assessment: Nods to the Houston couple. The ham and cheese was not as good and the pimento cheese, really kind of bland and the bread was mushy. Maybe it was sitting in the cooler too long. Glad I had the beer to wash it down. 1638 hours: Mission complete. Total cost for three meals and a snack: $14. Which should also look good on the expense account. Make pimento cheese at home and catch up on the controversy over Augusta not allowing women to join .

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Snack master – devouring the menu at Augusta National Golf Club

Choosing a bar to watch the NCAA Tournament based entirely on drink specials is like filling out your bracket based on which mascot you like more: It doesn’t tell the whole story. March Madness specials are pretty much the same wherever you go. During tournament games, your beer will likely cost anywhere from $3 to $5 a pint and $10 a pitcher. And in most places, a deep fried bucket of something will be available for $5 or less. Read full article > >

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Where to watch March Madness

Choosing a bar to watch the NCAA Tournament based entirely on drink specials is like filling out your bracket based on which mascot you like more: It doesn’t tell the whole story. March Madness specials are pretty much the same wherever you go. During tournament games, your beer will likely cost anywhere from $3 to $5 a pint and $10 a pitcher. And in most places, a deep fried bucket of something will be available for $5 or less. Read full article > >

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Where to watch March Madness

Washington had four breweries operating in the early 20th century before the city was dried up by Congressional fiat in 1916. With a little luck, we should exceed that mark in the coming year, as 3 Stars Brewing Co . joins DC Brau , Chocolate City Beer and the Gordon Biersch and District ChopHouse brewpubs. Read full article > >

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D.C. is fermenting a brewery culture

The beer is good, but the 12-ounce can is a real hoot. Collaborators Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia of 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco and Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi Brewing Co . in Eugene, Ore., have photo-shopped their faces unto the famous picture of Churchill , Roosevelt and Stalin seated at the Yalta Conference in 1945. The side of the can is designed to resemble a 1940s-era newspaper with a banner headline screaming, Allies Win the War! (which happens to be the name of the beer). Read full article > >

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Allies Win the War!: A beer for the greater good?

Santa Claus might be a Dutch invention, but it’s another Low Country, Belgium, that’s provided inspiration for Christmas offerings from several of the area’s newest breweries. If you’re interested in variations on a yeast, compare Tidings from Port City Brewing Co . in Alexandria with RhiNoel from Lost Rhino Brewing Co . in Ashburn. Lost Rhino brewer Favio Garcia borrowed the Belgian yeast strain from Port City (craft brewers are neighborly about such things) to ferment his first-ever winter seasonal: a strong, dark ale that’s “a little sweeter than traditional Belgian dubbels but not super-sweet.” Garcia added dark candy sugar, which bumped the alcohol up to 7.5 percent by volume, but no spices. RhiNoel is available in kegs and 750-milliliter bottles; the bottles are conditioned with a dollop of fresh yeast, making them suitable for cellaring. Read full article > >

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Seasonal beers to make your Christmas very merry

Editor’s note: Were you in suspense after reading Saturday night’s article about Lance Cpl. Matthew Rodgers on PostLocal.com? Here’s the rest of the story. The proclamation was in the mayor’s hands. The marching band, all warmed up. The firetruck and police cars stood on call. And Pinky and Pepe Rodgers were in their beer and wine store in the Kentlands shopping complex, wondering why their store was suddenly so crowded. Read full article > >

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For Gaithersburg Marine, a surprise homecoming

Craft beers are taking off in the hometown of Anheuser-Busch.

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Heads Up: For Beer, St. Louis Thinks Smaller

Craft beers are taking off in the hometown of Anheuser-Busch.

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Heads Up: For Beer, St. Louis Thinks Smaller

In a revival of an attraction said to date to 1824 in New York City, there are now more than 50 beer gardens scattered in its neighborhoods.

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Beer Gardens Everywhere

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was chided for saying on Monday that he likes beer on ice, but drinking suds on the rocks is common in Southeast Asia.

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City Room: In Thailand, Bloomberg Would Fit In

As one microbrewer sees it, outdated government rules have helped make many Greek companies uncompetitive.

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What’s Broken in Greece? Ask an Entrepreneur

LAS VEGAS — I spotted this at the otherwise forgettable Oscoo booth. It’d make a great stocking stuffer for the nerd in your life. Although if you decide to include the beer, I can think of a few better choices than Bud Light Lime.

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Adult Nerd Toy: A USB Stick and Bottle Opener

A panel tasted 20 German lagers made in the dunkel style: straightforward and direct, made to refresh.

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Beers of The Times: Dunkel, a Brew Ideal for Long Debates