Showcase Your Cheeses at the Great American Beer Festival!

From Sept 29-Oct 1, ACS will return to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, to serve as the event's official artisan cheese partner. Over three days, the ACS team will sample member cheeses to nearly 50,000 attendees -- both at the ACS pavilion and through special pairings with regional brewers' guilds.

If you are a producer and would like to have your products showcased at the Great American Beer Festival, consider sending cheese or accompanying products! Contact Rebecca Sherman Orozco to for more details.   

Late Summer's Bounty: Heirloom Tomato and Lemon Mascarpone Tart  

Beautiful heirloom tomatoes are beginning to pop up in grocery stores and at farm stands around the country. Celebrate the harvest by adding some fresh mascarpone to create a light and summery tart. 

Ahhh, Montr�al. I've been savoring my memories of the gorgeous city, delicious food, engaging sessions and memorable conversations with so many friends and colleagues. Such a treat, too, meeting new friends for the first time, our shared passion for cheese offering an immediate connection.

A hearty congratulations and big thank you to the Montr�al Conference Planning Committee, volunteers, and staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring the first ACS international conference to successful fruition. Thank you also to the many presenters who lent their expertise to our educational sessions.

Finally, a big thank you to our sponsors. Your generous support helped us produce not only a stellar conference but also contributes to the year-round operations and activities of the society. We look forward to working with you again in Raleigh for our 2012 Conference. 

I am excited and encouraged by the number of you who approached members of the Board, Committee Chairs, and our ACS staff wanting to get more involved with our ongoing initiatives -- from the Certification Exam for Cheese Professionals, to the newly formed Regulatory & Academic Committee and American Cheese Month working group, to the Sponsorship and Marketing & Communications Committees. ACS has always been a member-driven organization. The excitement, enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteer Board and Committee members through the years is what has gotten us here and what will move our association forward.

The Board and Committee Chairs are prioritizing and aligning on 2011/2012 ACS goals in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to future editions of CheeseBytes for specific volunteer opportunities.

Don't forget: American Cheese Month kicks off October 1st. Download the American Cheese Month logo for use in your store, in your programs and events, or on your website. How do you plan to celebrate? Shout out on Facebook or Twitter! 

Peace, Love and Cheese,

Christine Hyatt

ACS President

Active Members Activate ACS  

Thanks to all who joined us in Montr�al earlier this month to make our Annual Conference & Competition a great success! Our ACS team is already gearing up for next year's event in Raleigh, NC. Mark your calendar now for August 1-4, 2012. You can get involved:

• I encourage you to share your unique expertise by presenting a session in Raleigh. Presentation submissions are due by September 12. 
• This year's Official Conference Cheesemongers, Jeanne Rodier of Yannick Fromagerie and Kelly Sheehan of Antonelli's Cheese Shop, did an amazing job. Next year, we'll need two equally-skilled cheesemongers to tackle the job of ensuring that 17,000 lbs of cheese is prepped and moved to wherever it needs to be throughout the Conference. Consider applying for this top industry position. 
• Also in Raleigh, you'll be able to sit for our first ever Certification Exam for Cheese Professionals. More information and an application are coming to our website soon. 

In the meantime... excitement over the First Annual American Cheese Month is growing -- what will you do in October to celebrate American cheeses and raise awareness of and appreciation for great American cheese? 

Sincerely,

Nora Weiser

Executive Director

Congratulations to our 2011 Winners!

The 2011 ACS Judging & Competition went on record as the largest judging of cheese in North American history. This year's competition saw 1,676 entries from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Among those entries, 334 ribbons were awarded in more than 100 different categories.

Congratulations to this year's competitors and winners! For a full roster, please follow the links below.

• 2011 Winner List  
• 2011 Entry List       

Winning companies in the 2011 ACS Judging & Competition may purchase winner stickers to affix to product packaging. Stickers are available for sale  on the ACS website at the rate of $10 per 500 stickers.

Alternatively, a high-resolution digital file of the winner graphic may be incorporated directly into the design of your product packaging. If you would like a digital file, contact the ACS office at  [email protected].  A high-resolution digital file will be provided at the rate of $10 per 500 digital imprints. 

A Record-Breaking Judging & Competition 

The journey to Montr�al has been a great and rewarding adventure, our first ever international conference. Scores of people were involved in mapping it out. Almost every bend in the trail was anticipated. The surprising, sometimes treacherous turns were navigated. And, in the end, the mighty St. Lawrence was crossed.

We don't have to remind our US cheesemaker members how much we asked of them in order to make this year's shipment of entries work. We needed a consolidation effort for the first time, had a specific shipping date and cut off time, required production dates and other information for Canadian customs, and more.

Ultimately, all goods that shipped on-time arrived on-time in Plattsburgh, New York. And, when I crossed the border and arrived in Montr�al, I found our trailer full of cheese parked and waiting at the Palais des congr�s.

As has become your custom, all records were shattered with this year's entries. 258 producers from the United States, Canada, and Mexico submitted 1,676 cheeses and cultured dairy products, 244 more than last year's record in Seattle. ACS Montr�al was the largest judging of cheese in North American history. All cheesemakers who entered this year's Competition will receive copies of their judging scoresheets via mail in early September.

As you know, it takes dozens and dozens of people to pull the Judging & Competition together. There are many more to thank than we can account for, but please download and read our 2011 Awards Brochure to find out who these invaluable partners and supporters are -- including sponsor Atlanta Foods International, and members of the ACS Judging & Competition Committee.

I will continue to work with this wonderful committee in the years to come, but I have completed my term as Judging & Competition Chair. It has been the most rewarding experience of my career to be with ACS and witness this astonishing growth, both in numbers and stature, of the North American cheesemaker. I thank you all for this privilege and opportunity, and welcome our incoming Chair, Todd Druhot of Atlanta Foods International. 

Sincerely,

David Grotenstein

2011 Chairman, Judging & Competition

Pioneers of Goat Cheese Inducted into

ACS Academy of Cheese  

ACS inducted eight individuals into the Academy of Cheese, honoring a quarter century's work in growing the category of goat cheese in the United States. The awards were presented on August 5 at the Annual Business Meeting during the ACS Conference & Competition in Montr�al.

Inductees included:

• Jennifer Bice, owner of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery in Sebastapol, CA
• Laura Chenel, founder of Laura Chenel's Chevre in Sonoma, CA
• Allison Hooper, co-owner of Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery in Websterville, VT
• Mary Keehn, founder of Cypress Grove Chevre in Arcata, CA
• Letty and Bob Kilmoyer, founders of Westfield Farm in Hubbardston, MA
• Judy Schad, owner of Capriole Farmstead Goat Cheeses in Greenville, IN
• Anne Topham, owner of Fantome Farm in Ridgeway, WI

The Academy of Cheese was created by ACS twenty years ago to honor early supporters of the American cheese movement, and was re-launched at the 2011 conference to honor individuals who share a related industry vocation and passion for growing the artisan, farmstead and specialty cheese industry in North America.

As with all such honors, there is the risk of oversight and failing to recognize all those who deserve our praise. Please read a letter from Christine Hyatt and a letter to the ACS Board from Allison Hooper, both of which recognize some great goat cheese industry pioneers who were missed in Montr�al.