Lively Run Goat Dairy Farm & Creamery
Lively Run Goat Dairy is a family-owned farm and creamery in Interlaken New York producing award winning artisan cheeses with milk from our partner farm’s goats, cows and sheep in the Finger Lakes region and beyond.
Our Story
Lively Run Goat Dairy has been handcrafting artisan goat and cow milk cheeses in the Finger Lakes since 1982. As one of the first farmstead dairies in New York, we are passionate about sustainable farming, animal care, and bringing people closer to their food. Every wheel of cheese is made with milk from our partner farms in Interlaken and the Finger Lakes of New York and beyond, and reflects our family’s commitment to quality, community, and tradition.
We make all of our goat and cow milk cheeses right here at our farm in Interlaken New York.
Our Cayuga Blue, Finger Lakes Gold, Finger Lakes Gold Reserve, Shire, Blue Yonder, and Feta are all American Cheese Society award winners.
Lively Run has been making cheese as a family business in the Finger Lakes for over 40 years.
Our Partner Farms practice high standards of animal welfare and steward their lands sustainably.
We take care of our land, reuse waste, and make cheese in small batches.
Our cheese is made in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes and sold across the country.
UPCOMING EVENTS
July - August
Every Saturday 3PM
Learn how our cheeses are made, taste unique flavors, and explore what makes goat cheese different from cow or sheep cheese. A guided experience for cheese lovers of all ages.
Coming in January 2026
Each year we share the joy of Christmas with our goats by giving them our Christmas Trees to munch on. Goats are browsers and they absolutely love pines, spruces and conifers.
Come, watch them and enjoy free hot cocoa and donuts!
OUR GOAT FAMILY
Lively Run Goat Dairy and its Partner Farm’s are home to French Alpines, Swiss Saanens, LaManchas, and Angora goats. Our herd is known for its friendly personalities, curiosity, and mischief. Each goat is raised with care and fed a healthy mix of pasture and local forage, helping us create the fresh, flavorful goat cheese our Finger Lakes dairy is known for.
We believe happy goats make better cheese. Come meet them in person during your farm visit and see why our guests fall in love with them, and our cheese.
Our Cheeses
Goat Milk ~ Blue Cheese ~ Earthy
Cayuga Blue is a natural rind pasteurized goat milk blue cheese marbled throughout with veins of blue as deep in color as the lake it is named after.
Cayuga Blue is rich with earthy and mushroom flavors and a hint of nutty sweetness, Cayuga Blue is noteworthy for its subtle complexity, while still maintaining an approachable character. It is prized by both newcomers and seasoned blue cheese lovers. Cayuga Blue pairs well with off dry Rieslings, raspberry jam, and chocolate.
It won American Cheese Society awards in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024.
Goat Milk ~ Fresh ~ Spreadable
Lively Run Chevre is a traditional fresh Chevre. The flavor is clean and grassy, while the curd is delightfully fluffy and creamy, not chalky. Lively Run Chevre is perfect for spreading or mixing into recipes and is available in an array of flavors from savory to sweet.
Goat Milk ~ Brined ~ Crumbly
Lively Run Feta is a traditionally brine aged Feta, unique because it is made entirely from our exceptional goat milk. The flavor is briny and lemony, while the texture is crumbly and firm. Lively Run Feta is perfect for use in salads or alongside olives, as well as in pasta dishes.
Goat Milk ~ American Original ~ Buttery
Finger Lakes Gold is a hard aged goat’s milk cheese made from pasteurized milk. It is aged for a minimum of 90 days. Finger Lakes Gold is an original recipe, created by Lively Run to showcase the quality and flavor of the goat milk from which it is made. Its unique flavor is a reflection of the terroir of the Finger Lakes.
Nutty and mellow, the paste is firm but retains the creaminess of the milk. Grassy and pastoral notes balance out a burnt sugar finish. Finger Lakes Gold is a good melting cheese, and pairs well with dry Finger Lakes Rieslings, crisp lagers or light, slightly hopped ales, and tart jams.
Finger Lakes Gold won awards in the American Cheese Society’s Competition in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Goat Milk ~ Extra Aged ~ Rich Taste
Aged for a minimum of 300 days, the Finger Lakes Gold Reserve is the older brother of the Finger Lakes Gold. Finger Lakes Gold Reserve has a deeper flavor, firmer texture, with exclusive limited availability.
Burnt sugar notes are intense on the finish, along with a strong bone broth/ umami quality.
This cheese pairs well with a perfect Manhattan,cured meats, or an aged Balsamic Vinegar.
Goat Milk ~ Hard ~ Natural Rind
Phebe is a hard, natural rind cheese that underwent cheddaring and milling the curds. It is aged over a year.
This cheese is named after the first woman that settled on what is now Lively Run Goat Dairy in the 1840s.
It is crumbly, perfect for grating, with strong umami notes balanced by caramel flavors.
Goat Milk ~ New York Style Cheddar~ sharp
Lively Run Dairy’s Interlaken is made like a NY Style cheddar, but is entirely produced from pasteurized goat milk.
The cheese is sharp and has the tanginess that is typical for goat milk cheeses. The paste is sliceable and a little crumbly.
Interlaken elevates Reuben Sandwiches to new heights!
Goat Milk ~ Bloomy Rind~ Rich Taste
Following the traditional french recipe of a lactic set, bloomy rind goat cheese, the Bucheron is Lively Run’s newest cheese.
The curd for Bucheron is formed into a 2 lb log and aged until it develops a lovely, snow-white rind.
Under the bloomy rind a delicious creamline develops and grows inward, transforming the curd into a delectable silky texture, along with a clean, slightly tangy lactic flavor.
Bucheron pairs well with slightly warmed plum preserves and desert wines.
Goat Milk ~ Bloomy Rind~ Brie Style
New Moon is a bloomy rind goat milk brie-style cheese. Lively Run took over making this delicious cheese from Old Chatham Creamery in 2025. We have taken their recipe for this classic, goat milk bloomy rind cheese and adapted it to our goat milk and creamery.
The texture is creamy but firm, with a pastoral, grassy flavor.
Our Cheeses
Cow Milk ~ Blue Cheese ~ Natural Rind
Blue Yonder is a natural rind pasteurized cow milk blue cheese. The cow milk that Blue Yonder is made from comes from a single herd of Holsteins, lovingly raised on a small family farm.
A robust blue cheese with strong marbling, the high butter fat fat content of the single- herd sourced milk results in a fudgy texture with buttery flavors supporting the pungency of the blue mold. Blue cheese is a blue cheese lover’s blue cheese: rich and intense, it pairs well with ice wines, honey, and red meats.
It won an award at the American cheese Society’s competition in 2023.
Cow Milk ~ Beer Washed ~ Malty
Shire is a natural rind, hard aged cow milk cheese made from pasteurized milk. During the cheese make process, the curds are washed with Shire Ale, an award winning Scotch-style ale produced by Hopshire Brewery located in Dryden NY, local to Lively Run Dairy.
The cheese is strongly flavored by the dark, malty, slightly smoky beer. Shire is imbued with dark roast coffee and toffee notes by its bath in beer. This cheese was developed by Lively Run as a collaboration with like-minded local artisans, and the cheese is a reflection of the idea that beer cheese should actually taste like the beer it is made with. Shire pairs well with dark, malty beers (particularly Scotch Ales), toasted pumpernickel bread, and tart cherries or cranberries.
Shire won an Award at the American Cheese Society’s Competition in 2023.
Cow Milk ~ Bloomy Rind ~ Creamy
Sheldrake Moon is a pasteurized cow milk, small- format bloomy rind cheese. The milk comes from a single herd of Holsteins, lovingly raised on a small family farm.
Named after the reflection of the moonlight on the waters of Cayuga Lake at Sheldrake Point, Sheldrake Moon is a mellow brie-style cheese.
As the cheese ages, the paste develops a lovely cream line and lucious, pudgy texture with a rich buttery flavor.
Sheldrake Moon pairs wonderfully with sparkling wines, dry ciders and stone fruit.
Cow Milk ~ New York Style ~ Cheddar
Lake Effect Cheddar is a pasteurized NY style Cheddar, made from the milk of a single herd of Holsteins.
It is aged for a minimum of 6 months.
Lake Effect Cheddar is a medium sharp Cheddar with a firm texture.
It is a good melting cheese and pairs well with ciders, beer and apples.
Cow Milk ~ Washed Curd~ Assertive
Gorge Trail Gouda follows the traditional Dutch recipe and is aged on wooden shelves with natural rind.
By omitting the waxing of the wheels, Gorge Trail Gouda has a more complex and intense flavor, as well as a stronger paste than its Dutch forebears.
Cow Milk ~ fresh ~ Squeeky
Our Cheese Curds are made from the milk of a single herd of Holsteins raised on a Family Farm close to Lively Run Dairy.
Our curds are fresh with a milky flavor and a squeaky texture, which can be refreshed by placing in the microwave for 10 seconds.
The cheese curds are excellent for melting on pizza, or filling Jalapenos for Jalapeno Poppers.
Testimonials
RECIPES & EVENTS
Discover delicious ways to cook with our artisan cheeses and stay up to date on special events, seasonal farm happenings, and local markets.
We are open Tuesday-Saturday from 12-5pm May through October.
Lively Run Goat Dairy is a family-owned farm and creamery in Interlaken, NY, producing award-winning goat and cow milk cheeses in the Finger Lakes region since 1982.
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