Perhaps then, in less than twelve years, we'll all be able to enjoy our favorite Belgian beer with its rightful partner. With over three hundred varieties, there is certainly a Belgian cheese for every taste. If forced to choose two salient characteristics of Belgian cheese, I would say incredibly smelly and incredibly, mildly tasty. Semi-soft cheeses such as Passendale and Beauvoorde are remarkable for being aromatically mild, but with a nuttiness and depth of flavor completely unexpected in cheeses that otherwise resemble Gouda or Muenster. In terms of marrying beer and cheese, a good role of thumb is meet strength with strength and mildness with mildness.
Sour beers go well with smellier cheese and creamier ones.
Alcoholically strong beers go well with smelly cheeses, enrobing the taste of the cheese in their strength. Spiced beers usually do best with younger, less sharp cheeses. Below is a selection of cheeses you might want to sample, with comparisons to cheese available in the US and suggestions of accompanying Belgian beer styles. Beauvoorde-farmhouse cheese, firm texture, pleasant aroma, full but mild flavor. Suggests Jarsleberg but softer and without holes.