Rodenbach, Cheese, Opera & A Church - A Heavenly Match
St. Stephen's Anglican Church

Opera, beer and cheese can all be said to be a vital part of Australia's cultural landscape.

For one night only, Beer Diva, Yarra Valley Dairy and Heron Tower Beverages are truly blessed to present a breathtaking live opera performance enhanced by exclusive Rodenbach ales and one-off handcrafted cheeses, all set beneath the stained glass windows of St. Stephen's Church in Richmond.

Guests will enjoy 6 of the finest beers within the Rodenbach range, including:

• Rodenbach Grand Cru – the “Burgundy of Belgium”, a blend of 1/3 young beer and 2/3 beer matured for two years in oak
• Rodenbach Vintage – the result of the Rodenbach brewers selecting the cask which has produced the best beer after 2 years, 100% matured beer.
• Caractère Rouge – created by adding an extra six months’ fermenting maceration with cherries, raspberries and cranberries, to two year matured beer
• Belle Helene - A deviously delicious pear-cinnamon brew released by Rodenbach’s fruit master Filip Sneppe. Made with fresh Belgian soil pears harvested in the autumn and a subtle touch of cinnamon.
• Rodenbach Rosso – “a fruity kiss for a sparkling moment”, made with a blend of fresh and matured beer, fermented with red berries

Each beer will be meticulously paired to an exclusive selection of decadent cheeses, produced by Yarra Valley Dairy’s head cheesemaker, Jack Holman, under the guidance of Rodenbach's Belgian cheesemaker.

Jack has been toiling away and has created 2 varieties of washed rind cheeses utilising the Rodenbach Grand Cru and the Caractère Rouge, along with a third cheese incorporating spent grain.

These cheeses are unique to this event and have never been produced before. Jack is pretty pleased with his efforts, in fact, when we tasted them with him, you couldn’t wipe the grin off his face!

While guests are dining on fine beer & cheese they will also be treated to a live operatic serenade by some of Australia's finest opera performers, including tenor Carlos E. Bárcenas Ramírez, who is currently performing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Victorian Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor, Wiradjuri Soprano Shauntai Batzke who made her Sydney Opera House debut this year, and dramatic contralto Liane Keegan who trained in Australia along with the National Opera Studio in London. Liane is curating the performance and will be pairing the beers & cheeses to a divine range of arias.

This is an unbelievable Australian first and is definitely not to be missed. Be among the lucky few to witness the incredible fusion of beer, cheese & opera.

Confessions optional.