Standing Stone Brewing Company (SSBC) and Rogue Creamery are a common pairing. The award-winning creamery makes a Standing Stone Stout Cheddar and the acclaimed craft brewery/restaurant features Rogue Creamery cheeses on its menu.

The two have taken their collaboration a step further to advance their common mission around sustainable business. Standing Stone has inspired Rogue Creamery to give free commuter bikes to employees who have worked at least 1,000 hours and who agree to bike commute 45 times in a year, replicating a program SSBC recently launched.

It all started with a wager made over a few pints of ale. Rogue Creamery co-owner David Gremmels stopped by for a beer and asked SSBC co-owner Alex Amarotico about the new commuter bike program, mentioning that his team members expressed interest in it. “I casually offered to buy a commuter bike for cheesemaker and plant manager Craig Nelson if he committed to bike to work at least 45 times, and if David and co-owner Cary Bryant agreed to buy bikes for their team members making the same pledge,” says Amarotico. “I was pleasantly surprised when David told me Craig and the Creamery were in.”

To be a beer geek and to not eat cheese is a sacrilege to some.  But what if you are lactose intolerant?  That’s nearly as bad as being gluten intolerant…well, sort of.  If you can not eat cheese or your vegan conscience won’t allow for it, there’s a magnificent Scottish faux-cheese product called Sheese made by Bute Island Foods.

Sheese is a delicious alternative to dairy-based cheese. Sheese is acceptable for vegans as well as other consumers who are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy products There are no hydrogenated oils, no artificial colors, no preservatives, and no animal-based ingredients in Sheese.