the cheese blog

Birchrun Hills Highland Alpine

Birchrun Hills Farm Highland Alpine, made in Birchrunville, Chester County, PA, is a raw milk, washed-rind cheese. Obviously, based on the name, this is an Alpine-style cheese that has been cave aged.

The washed rind has a wonderful, deep, honey color. There isn’t much of an aroma, just a slight briny smell. The texture is semi-hard to crumbly, with a few crunchy salt crystals. The color is off-white to gold colored. The taste is a bit sharp with hazlenut and carmel flavors. It might seem that this is a one-dimensional cheese, but it’s more than that, it’s just a very honest, straight-forward cheese. I’ve seen this cheese compard to a Gruyere, which I could see. However you compare it, I think it’s just a well made cheese and if you see it, give it a try, you shoudn’t be dissapointed.