Christmas orders are now closed
Everything on the website is out of stock BUT our counter in Pangbourne is full of cheese, so please come in to make your selection
You are still able to purchase vouchers online until 22nd December
We offer vouchers for Cheese, Academy of Cheese Courses, Cheese Tasting Events
You can also purchase Cheese Subscriptions to start in January 2025
Our shop in Pangbourne is stocked with delicious cheese for counter service
£9.25
Maida Vale is a brie style cheese that is washed with an Indian Pale Ale. Washing the cheese with the ale produces a tangy, washed-rind flavour with hints of hoppy IPA coming through. In spite of the washing process, this cheese is gluten free.
This is a 180g soft creamy cheese that is washed in ale during its maturation period. Maida Vale begins its life in much the same way as Waterloo (a soft cows’ milk cheese made at the same dairy in Berkshire). It is made using Guernsey milk and then washed in an Indian Pale Ale called Soundwave, made by the Siren Craft Brewery which is just 6 miles from the Village Maid Dairy. The Guernsey milk used in the cheesemaking makes Maida Vale rich, buttery and creamy whereas the ale washing gives it a really tangy twist. Washing a cheese in alcohol or brine changes its whole nature and causes the cheese to take on all sorts of unique characteristics. We also sell a selection of beers from Siren Craft in our shop in Pangbourne!
Anne Wigmore set up Village Maid Cheese in the mid 1980s having previously worked as a microbiologist at the National Institute for Research in Dairying. She had developed a passion for cheesemaking whilst at the Institute and a love of Italian sheep’s milk cheese (Pecorino) whilst travelling in Sardinia. Working out of a small purpose-built unit in her garden she began experimenting in order to produce a sheep’s milk cheese of her own. To begin with Anne and her husband Andy just made a hard sheep’s cheese (Spenwood) but were soon branching out to make Wigmore and Waterloo. More recently they have been joined in the business by their son Jake and his partner, Kayleigh. It is Jake and Kayleigh who developed the Maida Vale. Their other cheeses Heckfield and Barkham Blue also feature in our counter.
We visit the Village Maid dairy every 2 weeks to buy our cheese direct from them. This means that we have the opportunity to chat to the cheesemakers and find out what their plans are for the future.
Maida Vale can be paired with an Indian Pale Ale to match the flavours in the cheese but try it also with a Chardonnay, the dryness of the wine really offsets the pungent flavour of the cheese.
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, salt, vegetarian rennet
Normal opening Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm until:
Sunday 22nd 9am – 4pm
Monday 23rd 9am – 4pm
Christmas Eve 9am – 12pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Friday 27th Closed
Saturday 28th 9am – 4pm
Sunday 29th Closed
Monday 30th 9am – 2pm
Tuesday 31st 9am – 2pm
New Year’s Day Closed
Thursday 2nd January Closed
Friday 3rd 9am – 4pm then open as normal
After Christmas our courier delivery slots start from 8th January.
