Piggybacking on Flateric's comment, I'll second that White Winter is great and make this general observation: Wisconsin beats Minnesota for wineries.

I have heard those comments about Lake Superior Brewery before but I don't believe them.  However, since I do not drink (like you) I am forced to concede those points to other people's taste buds.  

The reason I don't believe them is that the beer has won many many awards, when I was in business and sold it it sold very well, and was highly regarded.  Also, it seems to me that whenever I dig a little deeper I find that the complainant has some ties, employment or interest in another microbrewery (the Brewhouse is a common one) or to the big time beer industry ("I just love Bud in long neck bottles ...")  I am not saying that is true in Digits case I am just sharing my experience that it usually seems to be more about presentation, connections or "image" rather than taste when I hear those complaints.  

As for why they are still in business, I think it is a wonderful thing that we have such a brewery in our town and I am often shocked that people aren't more supportive of the place.  Shocked I tell you.  August Schell's has been in New Ulm for over 150 years, now.  They have lasted as a small family owned brewery in good times and bad, even through prohibition.  Not many towns can claim such a thing, but part of how they made it is their strong ties to the local community and the community giving them support right back. How about a little of the same love for Lake Superior Brewing? 

Finally, I do know a thing or two about root beer, and I can fully attest that Lake Superior's High Bridge root beer is a fine, fine thing.  You can't usually get them in bottles, but a keg is about $50 bucks or so, maybe less depending on the size, and that could make a nice party libation and an excellent addition to any large to medium sized holiday gathering, especially one with people like me (and kids) who don't drink.

Something different: South Shore Brewery (out of Ashland)  Rhoades' Scholar Stout and/or Nut Brown Ale are both pretty good can find it in many of the local shops.

FYI: Lake Superior Brewing just won a Gold medal at the 2009 World Beer Championships.  Dale, Ben or anyone else down there will gladly give you a tour and sell you a growler.  Worth checking out.  They had a Whiskey-infused Stout on tap, delicious stuff.  The Old Man Winter Warmer is also wonderful.

I also love the Lake Superior brews and gladly support them (as well as the Brewhouse)!

Fitger's brews a tasty German style smoked beer that was on the rotation when I was last in Duluth in July. A growler of that would be an excellent accompaniment to some local homemade sausages and a big pile of sauerkraut.

I would recommend thirsty pagan brewing, was just there last night and the ICE PRINCESS IS Delicious and setan elap ela (Nates Pale ale) is absolutely wonderful.  Yay Nater!

wow. if ever there was a reason to quit Hoops' hops...carl just gave it.

not.

Okay, I'm 5000 miles from Duluth, so forgive me if I'm missing out on an insider's joke, but does Carl mean pederast? I'm not familiar with who he's referring to, but that's a mighty strong accusation. Perhaps better suited to a different forum. I thought we were trying to help Vedge pick out some local beer and wine.

carl's trying to be hip and funny by coining up a line from the Big Lebowski in which Walter calls "The Jesus" a pederass for exposing himself to a kid.

Fitgers Brewhouse all the way. Starfire Pale Ale is one of their best tasting and selling beers, accessible to most palettes. You cannot go wrong with it as a gift.

To the ignorant detractors, Fitgers' beer does not taste the same. Duluth is very fortunate to have world class beer brewed fresh and locally with over 100 varieties each year. Dave Hoops is a dedicated craftsman and a master brewer and will cheerfully walk you through brewery and educate your palette with samples. 

I live in an area without a brewpub and always load up on growlers whenever I visit. You do not know how lucky you are. If you don't like their beer, there is always Bud Light.

db: Since there are lots of different honey types (wildflower, clover, orange blossom, etc), meads can range in flavor wildly.  I find most dry meads to be a little lacking in honey character, so I prefer semi-sweet to sweet meads that have some residual honey sweetness.  On top of that, the variety of honey used can create a world of other flavors.  Not to mention, if you add fruit, spices, apple cider or grape juice, you can have even more wonderful creations.

Fruit meads are my favorite to drink (and make).  I tend to prefer fruit meads (melomels) with darker fruits (blackberry, raspberry, and my favorite... black currant) since they tend to leave deeper fruit flavors than lighter fruits like watermelon or strawberry.

I've also recently made a pyment, which is honey mixed with grape (wine) juice.  You get the wine characteristics from the grapes and the honey sweetness... which can be heavenly if done right.  Unfortunately you won't see many commercially-available pyments... I've been exposed to them via the homebrew club I'm a part of.

So in short, meads can be described, but it's better to taste them yourself.  If you can make it to White Winter in Ashland, they have free samples of all their meads, along with a full store where you can buy them along with other White Winter swag.