handmade cheese type private industry cheese founded 2003 headquarters seattle washington united states of america owner kurt beecher dammeier website beechershandmadecheese.com beecher s handmade cheese is an artisan cheesemaker and retail shop with locations in the pike place market seattle washington and new york city s flatiron district . the company was founded by kurt beecher dammeier in 2003 and opened in the pike place market after dammeier obtained a difficult to obtain storefront lease in the market . because dammeier had never been a cheesemaker he sought out the assistance of brad sinko who helped run a family cheese making business in oregon . a second location was opened in 2011 in the flatiron neighborhood of manhattan in new york city . unlike most artisan cheese makers beecher s mainly uses pasteurized milk and operates a high volume modern production facility with multiple farms supplying milk . when beecher s encountered problems in guaranteeing the standard flavor of the milks they were using to make cheese the company bought their own herds of dairy cattle and farms to ensure control of the cheese products from beginning to end . beecher s uses various cheese cultures when mixing cheeses so a cheddar cheese produced by beecher s may use cultures not normally intended for cheddar cheese production . beecher s pike place market cheese making facility includes a caf which serves grilled cheese and other items and a retail shop which sells both beecher s cheeses and others brands from local pacific northwest cheesemakers . the new york location is a much larger space . in addition to the production facility caf and retail space it also has a full service restaurant downstairs referred to as the cellar . beecher s also manufactures and sells macaroni and cheese dishes and other frozen sides which have received praise in reviews from the national news media . dammeier and his firm s cheeses have been featured on national television including twice on the martha stewart show and once on oprah with the world s best macaroni and cheese featured as one of oprah s favorite things . a cookbook by dammeier pure flavor 125 fresh all american recipes from the pacific northwest has been published and incorporates recipes used to make various beecher s products and dishes . in addition to their various business endeavors beecher s sponsors the flagship foundation and pure food kids project an educational program to teach children in the seattle public schools system about healthful diets . contents 1 founding and history 2 milk supplies 3 cheese and food manufacturing 4 retail sales and cheese shop 5 macaroni and cheese 6 awards and recognition 7 pure food kids 8 see also 9 references 10 sources 11 external links founding and history edit before founding beecher s dammeier had never made cheese and had little direct knowledge of the cheese making business . 1 2 his self described passion for cheese began during his childhood in tacoma washington where his family always kept a cheese board piled high with local cheeses . 3 raised in a family business involving printing and food manufacturing he decided to open a cheese business after his family sold the printing company . he named it for his great grandfather beecher mckenzie . 2 dammeier also owns the seattle based specialty grocer pasta & co. and is a major investor in pyramid breweries inc. ; other members of his family have stakes in pyramid as well . 1 2 dammeier also founded bennett s pure food bistro on nearby mercer island and the food truck maximus minimus both of which carry many dishes prepared with beecher s products . 4 in 2003 dammeier opened beecher s in seattle s pike place market when a rare large retail location became available in the market after the nursery molbak s closed its market location and moved to its current woodinville washington property . 5 6 7 after taking a cheese making course at washington state university dammeier decided he needed to hire someone to work with him as chief cheesemaker . 1 he hired brad sinko a microbiologist who previously had managed his family cheese business of bandon cheese in oregon before it was acquired by the tillamook county creamery association . 1 2 according to dammeier the artisanal cheese market was underrepresented in seattle and washington and he opened his business in part to encourage more cheese business to grow in the region . 2 in 2000 washington had nine licensed cheesemakers ; this expanded to twenty eight by 2007 . 1 dammeier compared the growth he expects in artisan cheese to the united states recent growth in sales of specialty beers if you said the word porter 20 years ago no one in the u.s. would have had any idea you were talking about beer . twenty years from now people will know what a washed rind is . 8 thanks to financing from dammeier s other business ventures beecher s had the ability to build up their operations slowly absorbing the costs of capitalization of the business while experimenting with their cheeses including the time to age them . 1 the first vat remarked dammeier we threw away . the second vat was really good . 1 as their work progressed sinko would adjust the formulas of their cheese processing the cultures and the enzymes involved and increased the average aging time for their flagship brand to 18 months . however they only publicly claim 12 months of aging . 1 in their first year of operation beecher s had no aged product of their own to sell instead building up an inventory of 80 000 pounds 36 000 kg of cheese . 9 during that same time their primary sales were of fresh cheese curds . 9 milk supplies edit after their initial founding with one milk supplier beecher s production system has had to expand several times to include more suppliers . as of 2006 beecher s was in the process of purchasing their own farms in eastern washington for additional milk production which will also give them full control over their entire product s creation . 5 the principal milk supplier is green acres farm in duvall washington using only hormone free and antibiotic free milk . 1 10 when consistent milk production first became a problem beecher s purchased a herd of 200 cows . 11 the entire dairy herd at green acres farm is owned by beecher s who leases them back to the farm . 9 for the new york production all holstein and jersey milk come directly from dutch hollow farms in upstate new york . to ensure a standardized flavor for the finished cheeses and due to there being insufficient space in their facilities for milk separating systems sinko said he went and standardized the herd . their initial milk from holstein cows was sweet but lacked the fatty content and nuttiness of jersey cow milk that was part of the product they wanted to create . they were able to eventually balance the two to their satisfaction . 1 dammeier has described the blend of holstein and jersey milk as a 50 50 mix . 12 from each farm all the milk supplied to beecher s is from the same herd to ensure that the flavor of each batch of milk they receive is consistent based on the herd s diet and environment . 13 at times beecher s has encountered challenges in maintaining this uniform standard . for example when flooding affected one farm the cows there produced enzymes in their milk that helped their calves to fight off bacteria but changed the flavor of the milk . 13 cheese and food manufacturing edit beecher s handmade cheese facility in seattle washington the cheese factory is housed in a small glass walled facility in seattle s pike place market on pike place between stewart street and pine street . the location includes a retail shop and a caf that features cheese based meals . passers by in the heavily touristed market can watch the cheese making process . 2 13 beecher s produces over 500 000 pounds 230 000 kg of cheese annually . their manufacturing facility now operates twenty four hours a day to keep up with their demand . 5 the new york facility is significantly larger than seattle s and can produce over three tons of cheese a day . sinko admits that the modern facility with large vats of cheese and milk processing would seem to contradict the word handmade in the company name . 2 according to him all of the cheese is monitored processed and prepared by hand but simply on a larger scale than most artisanal cheesemakers . 2 unlike most artisan cheeses beecher s is made largely with pasteurized milk . 2 dammeier believes that many people feel raw milk cheeses taste better due to renowned french cheeses which were historically made of raw milk because the farms were unable to afford pasteurization . i ve probably tasted 150 different cheeses this year and i m convinced that raw milk doesn t create more flavor he said adding that his cheeses have a more consistent taste from not using raw milk . 2 nevertheless beecher s offers a raw milk version of their flagship cheese . 13 the cheeses they produce use no artificial ingredients or preservatives . 1 beecher s typically manufactures up to nine different varieties of cheeses each year including a combination of their staple brands and various seasonal varieties . 2 cheese being prepared at beecher s handmade cheese at the beecher s facility their process for cheese manufacturing is multi staged . thousands of gallons of milk are hose fed from delivery trucks into the manufacturing area where it is heated to complete the pasteurization of the milk . 14 the heated milk is processed into a stainless steel trough and the temperature further increased while the first live cheese cultures and rennet a coagulant are added to the developing mixture . 10 14 according to amir rosenblatt a cheesemaker at beecher s the heating and cheese temperatures used in their cooking process are tightly controlled through the sustainable technology of steam power . a variation of half a degree in the pasteurization process can change the flavor of the cheese he said . 13 cheesemakers use stainless steel rakes to then gather the milk mixture before allowing it to settle briefly at which point the cheese is cut repeatedly by hand until it achieves a yogurt like texture and substance . this process is repeated often until a desired consistency is reached . 14 the mixture is then drawn away to a new trough where most of the remaining water and whey is drained from the cheese . 10 14 while the whey is continually pulled from the cheese cheesemakers constantly separate the cheese by hand into smaller and small stacks of cheese curds which form as the whey is removed . to complete the curding a large amount of salt is added to cure the cheese and draw still more whey from it . 10 14 the curds are finally cut into portions filled into cheese molds stacked on top of each other and the remaining excess moisture is forced from the cheese with a constant 60 pounds 27 kg of pressure for at least 24 hours before the finished cheese is stored to age . 10 14 for every 10 pounds 10 kilograms of milk and whey beecher s will typically create 1 pound 1 kilogram of finished cheese . 10 cheese being drained of moisture at beecher s handmade cheese beecher s cheeses differ from similar cheeses in that they mix cheese growth cultures in unusual ways . for example their signature flagship cheese includes cultures typically used for non cheddar cheeses such as gruy