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Welcome to FromagiNATION - a shop for specialty cheeses and craft brews in Madison

On Madison's Capitol Square, a new store devoted to hand-cut specialty cheese brings out the flavors of the state - from craft brews, condiments, hand-baked crackers and of course, dozens of cheeses - you'll find what you want to taste at Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison, Wisconsin.

The brainchild of Ken Monteleone, a former Land's End marketing exec, assisted in the opening by Brenda Walkowski, pictured at right, Fromagination brings a recycler's thrift (note the 50-year old collapsible shopping baskets) to a store that blends glamour with green ethos. The footstools for our class on pairing craft beer with specialty cheeses were made out of old tires, the beams above us reclaimed from old buildings, and the floor tiles fashioned from former roofing tiles. As for the cheeses in the cases, well, the bandaged cheddar from Willi Lehner's Bleu Mont Dairy was at least 18 months old.

At the back of the store, a display case holds bottles of beer at room temperature, though shielded from the light in closed doors. On the top of the case, a lineup of specialty brews feature numbered neck tags to match the cheeses in the display case. It's even better than a blind match, because you can get a hand-cut sample of any cheese available for sale. Very inspirational for preparing a cheese platter to match a mixed six-pack.

Jeanne Carpenter, the Cheese Underground Lady and I conducted a short class in pairing beer and cheese. We had so much fun doing it. I'll be presenting a class devoted to holiday parties and seasonal winter ales on November 19 - contact the store for details at 608-255-2430 or by email, cheeseclasses@fromagination.com . Bill Anderson, the staff fromager, will talk about the cheeses presented.

You can also hear about other classes and tastings through my email newsletter, which you can subscribe to by clicking here.

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