Extra-old Gouda with crystalline crunch and caramel sweetness.
26-month aged Dutch gouda from Noord-Holland. Caramelly and butterscotch-sweet with big tyrosine crystals. Order online. Ships to 48 states.
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Beemster X.O. is a cow's milk cheese aged a minimum of 26 months in the polder fields of North Holland, in the village of Beemster reclaimed from the sea in the 1600s. This is a proper aged gouda, the kind that has lost most of its moisture to time and gained everything in concentration.
The paste runs amber-deep and super flaky. It breaks under the knife into shards rather than slices, with big crystals of tyrosine crunching through every bite, the calcium-lactate sparkle you only get from a wheel that's spent two-plus years in the cave.
Flavor reads caramelly and butterscotch-sweet up front, with a browned-butter pull through the middle and a long sweet finish that lingers on the palate. 26 months is a long time for an aged gouda, and it shows. At this age, Beemster sits at the top tier of extra-old Dutch styles, with the kind of concentrated depth and crystalline crunch that defines the category.
Hard and super flaky, breaking under the knife into shards rather than slices. Big crystals of tyrosine crunch through every bite.
Pronounced caramel and butterscotch sweetness up front, with toasted milk solids and a long, concentrated finish that builds with each bite.
Long sweet finish that holds on the palate for a good 30 seconds, dominated by caramelized milk and brown butter notes.
Quiet on milky notes. Two-plus years of aging has pulled most of the fresh-cream tang into something more concentrated and savory.
Big nutty depth, like browned butter and toasted hazelnut, with the calcium-lactate crystals adding a hit of concentrated, savory sweetness.
Modest earthy backbone, a quiet vegetal note that sits behind the caramel rather than leading.
Gentle warmth on the back palate, no piquant bite. The sharpness here comes from concentration rather than pepper.
Waxed rind
Wax coating, inedible. Cut away before serving.
Aged Gouda stands on its own, but the right partners turn a wedge into a moment. Regional pairings first — they were built for each other.
Deep reds and Trappist ales both stand up to the cheese's caramel and tyrosine crunch, with malt and tannin echoing the long-aged sweetness.
Dried fruit and dark preserves match the candied, butterscotch sweetness of the aged paste, while sharp mustard cuts the richness.
Video represents style and type of cheese - may not be an exact match in all cases.
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Traditional washed-curd Dutch Gouda made from polder-grazed cow's milk delivered within 12 hours, brine-bathed and natural-rind aged from young Vlaskaas through 26+ month X.O.
Hand-cut to order the day it ships. Packed cold for overnight delivery.
Taste it for yourself →Cold-ship 2-day overnight nationwide
