Cheese Journal Giveaway

Dave Selden is a cheese frau’s dream. Okay, this cheese frau’s dream. The Portland beer blogger (he's the author of 999 beers) has developed a series of pocket-sized tasting notebooks for beer, whiskey, wine, coffee and – oh, bless him – cheese.

Each book contains 33 pages, hence the name of Selden’s cottage industry out of Portland, Oregon: 33books.com. A beer-blogger by night and graphic designer by day, he’s pretty much the perfect guy for the job of tasting-book developer.

I have 4 books to give away, and one lucky winner will also receive a complimentary cheese board (pictured below) made by Seldon himself. If you use the book, I hope you’ll let us know how you like it. Pop it in the pocket of your jeans vest, and jot down a few notes at the cheese counter or at a resto when you order a cheese plate.

The notebook is so cleverly put together and so compact, it’s a little frightening. (Does Dave Selden live in my brain?) The top of each page offers room for notes about the origins of each cheese – there’s even a line for a rind descriptor. Thank you, Dave.

The bottom of each page is comprised of a dairy dashboard – there’s a flavor wheel and a texture meter, along with a 5-star rating system. Don’t be scared. The diagrams are self-explanatory. The inside cover also offers some useful notes.

Good design and good cheese? I can’t think of a better pairing. Drop me a comment if you want me to send you a freebie. I’ll draw four random winners on Sunday, October 2, 2011 and ship these off to you tout de suite. 
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Dave's tasting journals are also available online for $4 each, or 3 for $10. Stocking stuffers? Yup. Each book is made of recycled paper and printed with soy ink. Cowabunga! I hope I start seeing these on retail shelves soon.