Flavor Profile 

• Creamy texture
• Espresso
• Nutty
• Buttery
• Floral

Quick Facts

• Cheddar
• Rubbed-rind
• Vegetarian rennet
• Pasteurized cow's milk

Drink Pairings 

• Cabernet
• Syrah
• Porter
• Stout
• Red Ale

Storage

• Store between 33-40 degrees. Avoid fluctuations outside this range, which can cause the cheese to gas off (a.k.a. blowing).
• To avoid cross contamination, avoid storing near bloomy rind cheeses.
• If the quarter has blown in its original packaging and no mold is present, you can leave it in the packaging if it's out of public view. It's perfectly fine to consume. Cheese is a living being that likes to breathe a little.
• Feel free to rewrap or reseal the blown quarter. If that doesn't do it, email hello@beehivecheese.com and we'll fix it.
• If the 4-oz retail wedges have blown, contact hello@beehivecheese.com and we'll fix it.

How to cut & wrap Barely Buzzed

• There should be rind present on every retail cut. Check out the video above for a visual.  
• Tight plastic wrap is the best for Barely Buzzed to mitigate mold. Cheese paper, while sexy, reduces shelf life after cutting.

What if there's mold present?

• For quarter wheels, if the cheese is within date and has a few spots of white, blue, or green mold, brush off the spots and cover up bald spot with surrounding rub. Seek a credit if the mold is so pervasive that it cannot be brushed off. For 4-oz wedges in the original packaging, contact your distributor to seek a credit.
• If you see orange, red, or black mold, discard this cheese and contact your distributor. 

Barely Buzzed Story

Tim Welsh had an idea—coffee and lavender rubbed on cheese. It wasn’t a common combination or technique for flavored cheese, but he thought it might work.

Before moving forward, he ran it by the cheese experts at Utah State University. Their response? It wouldn’t work. The cheese, theoretically, would become rancid and acidic too fast and inedible. 

But Tim and his team didn’t know what they didn’t know. So, they tried it anyway.

The result? Barely Buzzed—now an award-winning cheese and one of Beehive Cheese’s most popular creations. Sometimes, not knowing the “rules” is exactly what leads to something great.

Barely Buzzed kicked off a movement in the American artisan cheese world of rubbed-rind cheeses and has inspired dozens of other cheesemakers to use this method. 

Where does the coffee come from? 

Tim Welsh's brother, Dan, owned a coffee roasting company in Grand Junction, CO, called Colorado Legacy. He roasted a South American blend named Beehive Blend and shipped it to Beehive Cheese weekly.

Riesling is characterized by its sharp acidity and inherent sweetness, creating a dynamic flavor profile. When paired with Barely Buzzed, the wine's acidity and sweetness can perfectly complement the subtle butterscotch and gentle "smokiness" notes found in the cheese. Moreover, the floral aroma of the wine accentuates the lavender essence present in the cheese, resulting in a well-balanced and aromatic pairing.

Pairing details

Cabernet Sauvignon, known for its full body and medium acidity, can effortlessly complement the richness of a full-bodied cheese. The wine's hints of chocolate and black fruits harmonize beautifully with the espresso notes present in the cheese, resulting in a delightful pairing experience.

Syrah/Shiraz, dark and full-bodied wines, exhibit luscious flavors of dark, jammy fruits with subtle coffee undertones. They pair exceptionally well with a cheese that features roasted espresso notes on the rind, as it complements and enhances the wine's roasted caramel flavors.

Malbec, renowned for its dark fruit characteristics, also offers nuanced notes of chocolate and the influence of oak aging. This makes it an ideal companion for cheese featuring espresso flavors. The combination of dark fruit, chocolate, and oak in the wine complements and accentuates the espresso elements, creating a satisfying and harmonious pairing.