American Cheese Society Conference

Thanks to the efforts by Iowa State University, the American Cheese Society held their annual conference in Des Moines this year. Since that's drivable and I have a place to stay near by, this was my big chance to see what the conference was all about.

Unfortunately, the conference is for cheese professionals and I didn't want to spend the money for all the activities during the week. So I just went to the Festival of Cheese, where you could taste all the cheese, which was open to the public.

Festival of Cheese

It was pretty awesome being surrounded by so much cheese, but it was also quite overwhelming. With 14 tables spread around the convention floor, surrounded by sponsors selling their wares on the edges, there was a lot to see and eat.

Festival of Cheese Tasting Map

Cheddar

Massive convention floor

All the tables were crowded

Soft Ripened Cheese

Washed Rind Cheeses

I tried to eat as much cheese as possible, which probably wasn't the best plan of attack. Then I tried to focus on the award winners, which were designated by ribbons.

Award Winners designated by ribbons

Here is one of the cheese makers sporting their winning medal!

Award winning cheesemaker!

At least I can cross this off my bucket list!

Resources:

American Cheese Society = http://www.cheesesociety.org/