I just was in the cave putting up a newly waxed Cotswold, when I noticed my 1 month old Monterey Jack, swelled up like a baloon.  The wax had not ruptured, but had to be stretched to the max.  When I opened it to investigate, it seems that the rind on both the flat surfaces had separated from the body of the cheese.  There had to be some gasses causing the balooning, but there was absolutely no off odor.  I sampled a piece and the cheese is magnificent - the best Jack I’ve made to date.  Has anyone had a similar experience with a cheese?  And can someone tell me just what happened?

Rich,
I saw this happen once and in my instance it was a case of p. shermanii cross contamination.
The reason I know this is because my parm had significant swelling and when cut it had a swiss flavor and the small eyes that I’ve seen on most of my swiss cheeses.
I would think that if this was your problem, the texture and taste would be that of a swiss, but since you said it has a nice jack flavor, I’m stumped.
Hopefully someone else will have an idea.
I would like to see a picture of this if you have the chance to snap a couple.

Dave

I would say its basic fermentation, if its a contamination then it may be off flavour/smell. If its a nice taste then I would not worry about it. Maybe brine it till it looks like no more gass,