We brought home five medals at the American Cheese Society (ACS) award ceremony held on July 21 in Portland, Oregon.

The awards include 1st place gold medals for Face 2 Face Mixed Milk Cheddar and Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar. All three of Face Rock’s clothbound cheddars, a style of cheese not commonly made in the U.S., received medals.

The 2022 ACS awards Face Rock Creamery was honored to receive are:

• 1st: Face 2 Face Mixed Milk Cheddar, Sweet Cheddar- commonly made by including Lb. helveticus adjunct culture – all milks, all ages
• 1st: Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar, Cheddar with Flavor Added – all milks
• 2nd: Face 2 Face Clothbound Cheddar, Cheddar wrapped in cloth, linen with a natural rind – aged 13 or more months – all milks
• 2nd: In Your Face Spicy 3 Pepper Cheddar, Cheddar with Flavor Added – all milks
• 3rd: Clothbound Cheddar, Cheddar wrapped in cloth, linen with a natural rind – aged 13 or more months – all milks

“It’s always an honor to have our cheeses judged so highly by our peers, and this year has a special meaning for us,” said Greg Drobot, Face Rock Creamery President. “After having competition paused for the last few years, we were thrilled to gather once more with our friends from the cheese industry and see what everyone has been up to in their vats. It was also fantastic to have the ACS conference hosted in our home state of Oregon and have such a good showing from Oregon cheesemakers.”

ACS hosts the nation’s largest annual cheese competition, which attracted over 1,500 entries from North American cheesemakers. Each entry is judged using taste, technical and aesthetic criteria. Face Rock Creamery has brought home medals from every ACS competition it has entered since it began making cheese in 2013 at their Bandon creamery.