The secret diary of a cheese and beer guy.

The Sparten brewery can trace its origins back to the late 14th century; just for a bit of perspective Richard II was on the throne of England at the time! It gained its present name when the brewery was taken over by George Spatt in 1622 (James I and VI), from where it got its current name. The Brewery was then taken over in 1807 (George III) by the "Royal Brewer" Gabriel Sedlemyer. By this stage it was already one of the largest and most influential breweries in Bavaria. On his death the brewery was taken over by his two sons Gabriel (Jnr) and Joseph. Joe went off to but the Leistbrauerei and left his brother with Spaten. This is where the fun starts. There are dozens of different versions of this story and I'm pretty sure that none of them tell us the full story so I have just pulled out my favourite bits and tried to stitch together what could have happened. In 1833 (William IV) Joseph Sedlemyer (Jnr) and his friend from Vienna, Anton Drecher visited the UK. They were...

Stilton is one of the great cheeses of the world. There is probably not a better cheese symbol of Englishness than this crumbly, creamy, blue beauty. There are, however, a few things about this style of cheese that are so bonkers they just confirm its English eccentricity. To start with, if you lived in the village of Stilton (in Cambridgeshire) and made a lovely blue cheese you would not be allowed to name that cheese "Stilton". This is because, according to the PDO (see below) on Stilton cheese, it has to be made in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or Leicestershire. To sum up, a cheese maker can't make Stilton in Stilton. PDO recognition is a European idea which we have held onto in this post Brexit era. The concept is that the regionality and style and often process surrounding a food product is protected. This is why Camembert only comes from Normandy and Champagne only comes from the region of "Champagne" in North East France. Indeed, a Melton Mowbray pork pie ...