AS WITH MAINSTREAM BEER, Americans have gotten used to the rubbery, plastic-wrapped grocery-store varieties of cheese. What passes in chain stores for Cheddar, Münster, Jack, Swiss, and all the rest are but limp imitations of the genuine thing. Real cheese is flavorful, funky, varied, sublime, and authentic. And some of the best stuff comes from some of the smallest producers, whether they are staunch traditionalists or bomb-throwing renegades. In other words, great cheese has a lot in common with craft beer.
