Birgit Halbreiter( ♐) grew up in Memmingen, Germany, a small town in Bavaria. She trained and worked for one of the world’s largest soft-ripened cheese manufacturers, Käserei Champignon in the nearby city of Kempten. After leaving Germany, Birgit furthered her fermentation knowledge at Molson Breweries; as QA Manager and eventually as a member of the board of directors for New Belgium Brewing Company, one of the nation’s fastest-growing brewing companies located in Fort Collins, Colorado. Here, Birgit met Robert Poland, who was working as New Belgium’s fermentation manager.
Robert Poland (♌) became an entrepreneur at the age of 7 when he started a started 28-paper paper route in Boulder, Colorado. ....where he also went to elementary school...and...who was his science teacher in the small school....the famous Charlie Papazian, founder of the Homebrewers Association and the Great American Beer Festival.
Robert's first experience with fermentation was a science class field-trip to Charlie’s house, by public bus, to see his homebrew project. Charlie had recently discovered that if he covered the bathtub with plastic wrap, the beer tasted better.
We have all come so far since the days of cast iron bath-tubs... 🙂
From there he thought he was going to be Eddie Van Halen for a few years, then he discovered snowboarding, there went a few years, and finally landed a job at an industrial French bakery (🥖❤️). This re-sparked the interest in fermentation, which ended up leading him into homebrewing…Charlie, get it? (❤️🍺)
The years continued to tick by, now winning homebrew competitions which led to the next job, New Belgium Brewing. (more 🍺❤️) ...
After nearly ten years fermenting beer, it was time for a change for Birgit and Robert…
Soft Ripened Cheese here we come!
Birgit and Robert were instrumental in helping New Belgium become a leader in environmental standards and community support. They were both passionate about sustainability and social responsibility, and they were committed to making a difference in the world.
For a few years before leaving the brewery, Birgit and Robert had been thinking about starting their own fermentation business. They wanted to create a company that would continue to uphold the values that they had helped to instill at New Belgium, while using their in-depth knowledge and skills in fermentation.
Birgit and Robert enlisted the help of Birgit's father, Franz Halbreiter, a master cheesemaker in Germany, to plan the launch of MouCo Cheese Company. In June of 2001, the company was born and made its first sale shortly afterward to Beavers Market in Fort Collins.
Franz Halbreiter was a wealth of knowledge and experience, and he played a key role in helping Birgit and Robert get MouCo Cheese Company off the ground. He shared his insights on the art of cheesemaking, and he helped the couple source the highest-quality ingredients from across the world.
For the first 5 years, Franz acted as a consultant for MouCo cheese and spent about one month per year in Fort Collins, working with Robert on the art form of soft ripened cheese making.
Over the years we expanded our canvas of cheeses to include not only our traditional Camembert but also other unique cheeses such as a smear ripened cheese called ColoRouge as well as an ash cured cheese, Ashley.
We are still in love, in so many ways...
...after all these years...
....and here’s why:
...we have worked tirelessly to make great cheese while reducing our environmental impact, and hopefully, make everyone that we interact with happier by our existence.
...we have taught children how to make cheese, both having them to the cheesery as well a schlepping milk and culture to their class room.
...our cheese has been sought out for both the Democratic and Republican Conventions…in the same year… We have been served at the UN, and even have a picture of the Governor of Colorado enjoying a wheel.
...sometimes our cheese is available on International flights for your “across the pond” dining pleasure…(though, I don’t think, I usually sit in that section.)
...we have been invited to be on TV, on the radio, in the newspaper and magazines alike.
...we can count some of the nation's top restaurants as our loyal customers. We are honored to have been served at places like the Brown Palace in Denver, the Ritz Carlton, Chimney Park in Windsor and Tender at the Luxor in Las Vegas.
…and….the coolest thing of all…cheese lovers like you have made us popular enough that we are now carried in major grocery stores such as Whole Foods and King Soopers as well as many others.
...like many great stories, ours continues on, thank you for loving our cheese!
