by Austin Coe Butler
This week, in our month-long celebration of American Cheese Society Award Winners, it’s time for the hometown hero: Alemar Cheese Company! Alemar won in the following categories:
Apricity – 1st Place – Soft-Ripened Cheeses made from Cow’s Milk
Blue Earth – 2nd Place – Soft-Ripened Cheeses made from Cow’s Milk
This means that in the category of soft-ripened cheeses made from cow’s milk Alemar took both top spots! Let me rephrase that: Out of all the soft-ripened cow’s milk cheeses that were submitted from across the nation, not one but two cheeses from right here in Minneapolis rose to the top in America’s fiercest food-fight!
What’s also remarkable about Apricity’s win is that Apricity was only created last September—this is a debut win. Within just a few months it’s become the darling of the American artisan cheese scene, and it’s easy to see why. With its gorgeous orange glow, mouse-like texture, a bright, lactic tang, Apricity is a crave-able cheese for all occasions.
Alemar Cheese Company was founded in 2008 by Keith Adams in Mankato. Keith wanted to make artisanal, French-inspired soft-ripened cheeses like Brie and Camembert using milk from small Minnesota family farms. Their first cheese was Bent River, a Camembert-style cheese that quickly picked up two ACS honors and a Good Food Award. In 2019, Keith and his team moved to the FOOD BUILDING in NE Minneapolis where Charlotte Serino joined as Head Cheesemaker.
We currently have Apricity, Boom Island, their smaller camembert-style cheese, and Sakatah, a soft cheese wrapped in grape leaves and soaked in Brandy, in our case. Stop by the cheese counter this weekend to try a sample of Alemar’s cheeses and taste what makes them award-winning!