A peek around Briar Rose Creamery

Here's a glimpse around Briar Rose Creamery as of Summer 2011. We're plugging away, making things happen. We've done a lot since March of 2010.

Photo by Sarah Marcus


The ribbon from the Award Ceremony at the American Cheese Society Conference in Montreal, Quebec. I am still pinching myself.





Jim manning the booth at Woodstock Farmers Market, Portland, Oregon, Summer 2011.


Jim leads the charge at our Farmers Markets. He gets all the glory, while I toil away in the cheese room. That's ok. He's good at selling our cheese and love to talk baseball to anyone who will listen.




Shawn, the guy with the goats feeding youngsters around the goat barn. Early summer 2011. Photo by Sarah Marcus



Meet Shawn. He has the goats, mostly French Alpines and Swiss Toggenburgs. He milks them twice a day, every day. I take that rich, sweet milk and make something delicious with it.









Chelsea, assistant cheese maker getting some buckling attention. Photo by Sarah Marcus




This is Chelsea, my assistant in the cheese room and farmer's market rock star. Yes, her hair is really that color and has been that color for years. Well, it might change hue a bit from time to time, but she wears it well.








Cheese curds releasing whey and transforming into fresh chevre. Briar Rose Creamery, Summer 2011. Photo by Sarah Marcus

With this goat cheese I make fresh spreadable goat cheese in five flavors: Classic, a traditional chevre; Lemon Dill, Garlic Herb, Rosemary & Peppercorn, as well as Spicy Chipotle. I also make hand-rolled logs, chevre discs in infused olive oil, and award winning chocolate goat cheese truffles.



Tara hanging curds.
Photo by Sarah Marcus



Construction is moving along on our building. Last week we had a couple of cement pads poured around the exterior of the building. Compressors and other bits of equipment will be located on those fresh slabs of cement. We've got some special equipment being installed this week. Our air handling system is being set up and should be ready for action soon. We've got nylon socks for our air ducts and we'll have filtered air keeping our air quality nice and clean. A must for us! Keep that road dust out, thank you very much. We've been trying to get our epoxy floor put in for weeks now, but it still isn't installed. We're getting new bids this week.




Sarah stands by her work.

It might be an emotional roller coaster, with long days and sleepless nights, but I am living my dream.









A goat milk expert raises her voice:

Blue Ribbon!!!

Photo by Emiliano Lee, cheesemonger extraordinaire of Liberty Heights Fresh, Salt Lake City, Utah.





It seems I only have time to jot down a few lines when we have momentous news. The news today? We just received a blue ribbon for our Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles! We entered them into the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition being held in Montreal, Quebec. We actually had four entries, and got a ribbon for the truffles, not the cheese.

Here is a list of all of the winners at American Cheese Society cheese contest. The best in show was awarded to fellow Oregonians, Rogue Creamery for their Rogue River Blue. Their second Best-of-Show in three years! We're thrilled for David, Cary, and the entire Rogue team for their success. They make some phenomenal cheeses.

Our Chocolate Chevre Truffles were awarded 1st place in the "Fresh Goat Cheese, Flavor Added: Floral" category. When we were filling out our entry form, there wasn't a perfect fit for our truffles. Nothing that indicated sweetened cheese, confections with cheese, cheese with chocolate added, etc. We actually called the offices of the American Cheese Society to figure out the best category for our truffles. They were stumped, too. Finally we all decided that the flavor added "floral" category was the closest fit since the category also included fruit added. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. The cocoa bean comes from a fruit, right? Close enough for us and ACS.

And now a blue ribbon!

Our truffles are still hard to get. We only sell them at our Farmers Market booth and special events and I only produce them when we have time in the cheese room to do so. We have a few retail outlets for them as well, but none have them in stock at this time. Check with them in a week or two, since we feel the need to reach out and offer them for sale.

Outlets are: Lifesource Natural Foods in Salem, Oregon, Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene, Oregon, Cheese Bar and Elephants Deli, both in Portland, Oregon.

I do not have the staff nor time to take retail mail orders, sorry. Shipping cheese or truffles in the summertime is not something I want to risk. Maybe once we're moved into our new creamery building we'll explore the possibility of shipping our truffles and cheese, but right now it isn't an option. Ah, well. If you want to try them, you'll just have to see us in person! We love that idea!

February is truffles and cheese month

Photos by Oregonian photographer, Ross Hamilton.


Just in time for Valentine's Day: more truffles! I really do make more things beyond these delicious, chocolate goat cheese truffles. Perhaps some nice fresh chevre to go with your dessert wine? But I'm not going to deny the world of these silky morsels of chevre and chocolate.

Tami Parr writes the cheese column for Portland's Mix Magazine, a bi-monthly magazine published by our local paper, The Oregonian. February features Briar Rose Creamery and our truffles. Yay! Tami came out to the creamery the same day we had a tornado touch down five miles away in Aumsville, Oregon. Also feature on that day: an inspection by the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture - we're doing fine! How's that for timing? Is there a message from the Universe in there somewhere?

Forever plagued by weighty issues, I look at these photos and see the need to go on a diet. But, my-oh-my! Don't those truffles look good! Nice shots of Shawn's bucks, and a group shot of the does in the dairy barn.

Here's the link to the article in the February 2011 issue of Mix Magazine.

Chocolate goat cheese truffles are catching on!

Got a nice write-up on the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project. Our truffles are addictive. And they're selling fast!

I learned how to make them while at Goat Lady Dairy. I made lots of them while I was there. Since then I've made them from time to time to give as gifts to friends. I even made them for classes at the Cheese School of San Francisco.

I loved tweaking with the recipe. Mom was very opinionated when I was shopping around for chocolate to test. She wrote a book about chocolate in the '70s called "The Chocolate Bible", so she knew what she was talking about. We tried several different chocolates and several different cocoa powders to get the exact flavor profile that I was looking for. It had to be a rich, dark chocolate, but not bitter. The sweetness from the chocolate had to marry well with the acidity of the goat cheese. The cocoa powder had to hit the palatte with hints of smoke, and savory chocolate. Yes, they're really good.

Right now you can only find them where ever we are personally selling them, so a few holiday markets around town. We're looking for more retail outlets, but our production is small, so I've got to make sure they're in places where they'll sell.

They make great hostess gifts if you really feel like sharing.

Award!!! and looking back

Chocolate goat cheese truffles - photo by Angelina Williamson.





Briar Rose Creamery got its first award this weekend! We entered cheese and truffles into the cheese competition of the American Dairy Goat Association annual meeting. The meeting was held in Tuscon, Arizona this year. Since we couldn't attend, we Fed-Ex'ed a couple of boxes full of samples and ice packs to a hotel near the airport in Tuscon. We simply wanted to get feedback and see how our stuff holds up to critique.

The results came back and we got a 2nd Place ribbon for our Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles! I'm still jumping up and down with excitement. I can't wait to see the notes from the judges and see what they thought of our fresh chevre.

Tami Parr was one of the judges and posted the list of winners from Oregon on her website: Pacific Northwest Cheese Project.

If you want to buy some truffles, you're in luck. They're available only at The Cheese Bar in Portland, Oregon, or Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene, Oregon. We also had them at our farmer's market booth, but that's over for the season. Stay tuned to our Facebook Page. I'll post more locations as we get them. We're pretty picky about who sells our truffles.

Looking back, the first seven months:

This first year of production has been full of trial and tribulations for Jim and me. Not a week goes by that I don't question my sanity. Why am I doing this? How am I going to pay for all of this? Will my building ever get finished? Will I survive this start-up phase? How am I going to get everything done that needs to be done?

Receiving an award for my truffles validates my work and reasons for making cheese. People like us! I make tasty truffles!

I've never seen myself as an entrepreneur. I've always worked for others, and try to do the best that I can in any given situation. Starting my own business is completely out of my comfort zone. I'm getting a knot in my stomach right now as I write about it. I took classes offered by the Small Business Administration in San Francisco but I still feel totally out of my element and not as well prepared as I should have been. I'd like to find a mentor who knows all about starting and running a small food production business. That might ease my anxieties. I really am better at handling my anxieties these days. I try to take a few minutes each day to clear my head. I even meditate. My spiritual practices support me, too. I try to see the bumps in the road as learning tools. Each lesson is making me a stronger person and a better business woman. We're following our hearts and going for our dreams. This is a great thing!



Farmer's Market Season:

We made it through our first Farmer's Market season. I still can't believe they end so early, around here. But that seems to be a good thing because the rains came this weekend and things are very wet and soggy, not good outdoor shopping weather.

Jim handled the markets and we did pretty well. The crappy economy did keep some shoppers away. Sales were down in McMinnville, the one market we worked last year (for Silver Falls Creamery.) Our Portland Farmers Markets were pretty good. We sold cheese at Pioneer Courthouse Square, on Mondays, Moreland Market in Southeast Portland on Wednesdays, and in McMinnville on Thursdays. In September, we were also at a market on NW 23rd in Portland on Thursdays, too. Folks were excited to see a new cheesemaker and try our cheese. As new vendors, we were testing the waters and we did OK for our first year. Next year we hope to add some weekend markets to our roster. And next year people will be able to buy cheese directly from our farm (come Hell or high water!)

Photo: Sarah and Jim at Provvista's Open House.




We knew this first year would be about building a customer base and getting our name out there. At each market folks would flock to our tent and try our cheese. Many would take one home with them. It was fun to see which cheese would sell the best at a market. There were seasonal winners, too. Lemon Dill Chevre is a summer cheese. When the weather was nice, it would outsell everything else. When the thermometer dips below 65 degrees, Garlic Herb Chevre was a clear favorite. When the leaves started to turn color and the crisp air of Autumn set the tone, Rosemary Peppercorn emerged as the crowd-pleaser.

We're also getting on the menu at a bunch of local restaurants. The local chefs are really happy with our cheese and are putting it into some fantastic dishes. I still get a huge thrill to see Briar Rose Creamery called out on a menu. Jim likes dropping by restaurants and meeting with chefs. He'll give them a pound of chevre to play with and checks up on them the following week. Most chefs have been glad to get good cheese for free. Who wouldn't? We then encourage them to place orders from our distributor, Provvista or buy directly from us if they're nearby.


Shameless plugs:
If you want to be inspired and see how local chefs use our chevre, we're on the menu regularly at some of our favorite local restaurants like Subterra in Newberg. In Dundee, you can't go wrong at any of the local eateries: Dundee Bistro, Tina's Restaurant, Farm to Fork, Red Hills Provincial Dining, in McMinnville, stop by Nick's Italian Cafe or Nick's Backroom, La Rambla, or Crescent Cafe. In Portland, I'd love it if you would swing by Ned Ludd or the Cheese Bar, as they both use our cheese. The Cheese Bar also is one of the few outlets for our AWARD WINNING Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles! Going skiing? You just might find our cheese on the menu at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.

Follow me!

Jim and I are luddites. We have six year old cell phones, my laptop has seen better days, and our desktop computer is pretty ancient, too. Yet, we're cutting edge in cheesemaking circles.

Why? Because we're on Facebook and have been for a while. I'm also on Twitter. Briar Rose Creamery has a pretty good following on Facebook. We've seen a good response at our farmer's markets when we promote a flavor. We've been able to get into supermarkets that way, too. A cheese buyer told me that they had customers demanding our cheese because we asked folks to request Briar Rose Creamery's chevre at their favorite cheese counters.

The power of social media is pretty strong and Jim and I seem to like the immediacy of it.
It works!
Power to the people!

So if you're so inclined, please follow Briar Rose Creamery on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Briar-Rose-Creamery/112348448790151?ref=ts
or find us on Twitter: BriarRoseCheese

I've also added those widget thingies to the right-hand column of this blog so you can sort of keep track of me.

On the radio TODAY!! and now, Retail outlets!

Photo: Briar Rose Creamery's Classic Chevre.


Today I'm going to be interviewed on the radio. A Portland community radio station is hosting a food show every Wednesday from 11am - Noon. Today's topic: CHEESE! I'll be the featured start-up cheesemaker. Listen in if you can!
They stream on the web. http://www.kboo.org/node/21552

I know I'm still very behind on my blog. So much to update and so little time right now to do it. Building is still being built. I'm driving 55 miles to make cheese in Stayton at the goat dairy. Yes, I'm making cheese. Fresh chevre to be exact. We're starting to take our cheese and sell it around Portland and around the Oregon Wine Country. So far we're getting some great responses. Yay!

You can find our cheese at these fine retail locations:

Abbie and Olivers Cheese Shop, Inside Wednesday Wines, 250 NE 3rd St, McMinnville, OR 97128, 503-583-0367
Foster and Dobbs Authentic Foods, 2518 NE 15th Avenue at NE Brazee Street, Portland, OR 97212, 503.284.1157
Cheese Bar (nee Steve's Cheese) 6031 SE Belmont Street (at 61st near Mt. Tabor), Portland, OR 97215
503-222-6014
Square Deal Wine and Cheese, 2321 NW Thurman Street, Portland, OR 97210, 503.226.9463

The Horse Radish, Downtown Carlton, Oregon, (503) 852-6656

Amity Foods and Coffee House, Downtown Amity, Oregon
615 South Trade Street, Amity, OR 97101, (503) 835-5600

Also, the farmer's market season has started for us. We're at three of them. Please stop by and say hello! Jim will be there.

Moreland Farmers Market, Wednesdays 3:30 to 7:30, May 12th - Sept 29th 2010, Located at SE Bybee/14th with free parking across the street at SE 14th/Glenwood. Westmoreland/Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, Oregon

McMinnville Farmer's Market, Thursdays from 1:30 -6:00, May 27th - October 7th. On Cowls St. btwn 2nd and 3rd. Downtown McMinnville, Oregon.

Pioneer Courthouse Square Farmer's Market, Mondays from 10:00 - 2:00, June 21 - October 25. Downtown Portland, Oregon.

Please support these folks who are taking a chance and selling our cheese! We really appreciate their faith and hope that it pays off for everyone.

Want another way to see what we're up to? We're on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Briar-Rose-Creamery/112348448790151