Beer & Cheese

My favorite beverage and quite possibly my favorite food, they go together so well. And finding a place that serves quality offerings of each, well, that’s about as good as it gets.

There are a few places in town, Buster’s on 28th and the Gnome pop to mind first, that carry excellent cheese and excellent beer. But did you know Faribault has a place, too? It’s The Cheese Cave, a retail cheese shop that also has a demonstration kitchen AND serves beer.

Last night was celebrity bartender night and since Mag is friends with one of the folks that would be pouring, we hopped in the car and headed down 35 with the McG’s. Bellying up to the bar behind the retail section of The Cave we found a great selection: four Summit brews on tap (Oatmeal Stout, Horizon Red, Maibock, and Extra Pale Ale), four Odell brews in bottles (5 Barrel Pale Ale, 90 Shilling, St. Lupulin, and IPA), and to appease the non-craft crowd, bottles of MGD. That’s a pretty good line up for a small place anywhere, much less in a town of less than 15,000 people.

I started off with the Oatmeal Stout – oh, the creamy goodness! But since the rest of the group was drinking Odell brews I finished my pint of creaminess and followed the herd. That was the right choice as I haven’t been to the liquor store since they hit the Minnesota market and I had forgotten just how much I enjoy their beer. The IPA particularly hit the spot (maybe it was the bitterness of the day) and who doesn’t enjoy a bucking elephant?

As would be expected from a place named The Cheese Cave, they have excellent cheese. They serve as a retail outlet for the Faribault Dairy Company (ya know, those folks who make St. Pete’s) but also offer a wide variety of cheeses from around the region and across the country. We got two of their cheese plates – one with three blue cheeses and one with, well, three other cheeses. Don’t get me wrong, the three I can’t remember were really good, too, but they were all white and since I didn’t lift one of their menus on the way out you’ll just have to trust me that it was worth getting.

I’ll beat you to the punch and apologize right now for writing as much or more about the cheese as the beer. And for not having any pictures. I know you like to look. Anyway, if beer and cheese is your thing, too, the short drive down 35 should be on your to do list.

32 Beers

32 beers on tap and I had 2. Yup. That sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? I mean, how often does one get the chance to have nearly the entire line up of a brewery on tap at the same time?
Last night Stub & Herb’s hosted this amazing opportunity as part of the Minnesota Craft Beer Week festivities. Flat Earth loaded up their taps with a combination of standards, specialty beers, and infusions. And as much as I have loved some of those infusions, the two beers that captured and kept my attention for the night were Rode Haring Flanders Red Ale and Extra Medium.
For those unfamiliar with the beers, Rode Haring is a blend of Extra Medium (American wild ale) and Biere de Garde. It’s aged for over a year so once a batch is gone there’s going to be a bit of a wait until the next batch is ready. I finished my last bomber from the previous batch around the first of the year and have been thirsting for the new batch ever since. And rather than quenching that thirst, last night’s pints of these tart and kinda funky beers only primed me to get my hands on more.

Celt's Pub

Finding a place to drink good beer around these parts isn’t hard. In fact it seems like sometimes there are so many that it’s hard to make it to all of them, to spread the love around. And just when it seems there are more choices than one deserves to have, another pops up.

Last night after dinner at Ginger Hop, we met up with some friends at Celt’s Pub in Inver Grove Heights. We’ve been there before and have been pleasantly surprised to find a couple of good beers keeping company on their ten or few taps with all those macros you’d expect to find at any dive-ish bar. I make the comparison to a dive-ish bar because from the outside that’s what it looks like and walking in the door, the impression is pretty much the same.

So back to the beer. To our delight, the good taps on this visit were represented by Bell’s Hopslam and Surly Furious. Plus, they’ve got a better than average bottle list for this type of joint, including bombers of Rogue Dead Guy. Celt’s also gets points for very friendly staff, tasty Heggies Pizza (yes, it’s frozen but it’s still pretty darn good AND it’s a Minnesota based company), a popcorn machine and Big Buck Hunter.

Apparently the Inver Grove Heights location, is one of three, with the other two in Rosemount and Hastings. I can’t vouch for the other two but if you find yourself in Inver Grove Heights, maybe planning to check out KoD, I’d highly recommend making some time to stop in at Celt’s.