Obviously, I love beer. But I also love food. A lot. Therefore, one of my favorite things to do is drink a great beer while having a tasty meal. Many places I enjoy drinking do not offer food; there are lots of excellent tap rooms that sometimes have food trucks outside, but not always. So it’s exciting when I can go get a beer and have a good meal all in one place. On Saturday I found the perfect place in which to do so: Fate Brewing Company in Boulder.

I tried my first Fate beer at a festival last month, and I loved it at first sip. A collaboration with Asher Brewing, the Cocoa Punk’n Porter is everything I could wish for in a porter, and more. Since small pours were all I could get at the festival, I was excited to get a full pint this time. I only wish it had been a bit colder; it seemed to be cask conditioned, as it was definitely on the warmer side while I prefer mine cooler. But it was still yummy. Also pictured above is my dining companion’s beer, Fate’s Scotch Ale, a collaboration with Crystal Springs, also of Boulder. I was too into drinking my porter and perusing the menu to ask for a sip until it was too late. But oh well; I’ll be back soon enough.

There were a few menu items that interested me, so it took a while to make my final selection. I went with the pasta salad, and it was a great decision: rotini pasta, roasted corn, olives (both Kalamata and green), goat cheese feta, roasted red peppers, capers, artichoke hearts, arugula and–though not listed on menu–red onions. It says it comes with “choice of dressing,” but I was told it is already made with some sort of honey dressing, though I could get an additional one on the side. So I chose the stout black pepper vinaigrette, which was one of the best dressings I’ve ever had. Adding that made the dish incredible! I ate the entire salad, which was the perfect size and completely filled me up though it was lite at the same time. A great deal for $6.

My companion ordered the Mushroom Mac ‘N’ Cheese. I do love mac and cheese, and this was just the right amount of “rich and creamy”. I like mushrooms but am not a huge fan, so that was a little too much for me personally. However, next time I might ask if I can simply get the basic mac & cheese sans ‘shrooms, as that would be perfect for me.

I had a great time at Fate and am so happy I was able to pay them a visit. I am very interested in some of their other food as well as what collaborations will be up next. And of course to check out their own core style beers, which will hopefully make an appearance by mid-March. I am a Fate fan already and look forward to all the exciting, wonderful brews and food to come!