The tour was super fun. It was more fun than a movie, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun afternoon trip.

For more information about the house, or going on a tour of your own, check out:

Minnesota Historical Society
http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/jjhh/

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Hill_House

James Hill House – Dining Room

James Hill House Dining Room

James Hill House – Gallery

James Hill House Gallery

James Hill House Paintings – Minnehaha Falls

James Hill House Paintings – Minnehaha Falls

Inside the James Hill House

Inside the James Hill House

James Hill House Basement

Buried Cars, Views From the Porch

Back Yard Snow

From “Creek A Day” (Minnehaha Creek daily progression)

Icicles, Viewed form the Back Window

Snow Dog

Indoor Napping

I’ll start out with a few favorite new lagers.

Henniger Lager was mellow and super delicious. This one comes in a pint and would actually be a great one to keep on hand in the summer. It’s not a lawnmowing beer, but definitely something you’d enjoy on a warm day (it just snowed a food when I drank this one).

A bit of history, Henninger Brewery (see the awesome tower) was a notable brewery in Frankfurt, Germany. It is now distributed by a Greek brewery called Mythos, a subsidiary of Carlsberg (another long-time favorite).

Staropramen Lager. This one takes everything you like about Pilsner Urquell and takes at a few steps further. Buy this one for your homebrewing friends who don’t have any cold-lagering equipment.

Staropramen is the second largest brewery in the Czech Republic. With socialism after the Second World War, all Czechoslovakian breweries were nationalised, including Staropramen.

Au Naturale Organic Blonde.

Okay, I saw this in the “build your own sixpack” isle, and told myself not to be tricked by bottles with naked women on it. But I bought it anyway. It was kind of alright, but in the end all that was good about it was the naked girl on the label.

This begs another question. Why can’t I find any organic beer or wine that really knocks my socks off? If you know of one, please recommend one in the comments.

Okay, on to Schell’s Snowstorm. I first had this one over at Justin’s house and have been hooked on it ever since. Schell’s is one of those brands that I find kind of underwhelming unless I find it on tap somewhere. Snowstorm doesn’t fit that pattern. Though it’s kind of sweet, I find it very drinkable and not overtly filling.

There’s a lot of winter beers that I grow tired of quickly, but this one isn’t it. It even pours nice. Tip: Serve with cookies.

On the tail of Snowstorm is Goose Island’s Mild Winter. Goose Island is another one of those that I only get excited about when I find it on tap. This one wasn’t bad, but Snowstorm is the clear winner in this winter beer tasting.

Schell’s Firebrick. You’re another one of those beers that gets drank last in the sample pack. Sorry, but that’s the best way I can put it.

I’m going to finish up this beer tasting with Bell’s Winter White. This one is kind of sweet, and I couldn’t drink more than one or two at most.

Everyone loves Bell’s. Surely a great one to buy when friends of varying tastes are coming over.

Okay, onto the wines. We’ve been drinking a ton of malbec lately, enough that I’m going to brew some of my own this spring (I’ll post about that later).

Maipe Malbec. This was a pretty fresh wine (2009) that was really good. I look forward to buying this one again.

Here’s some cool photos of the Argenenian winery where it came from.

Iluminado Malbec. Drank this one during the Winter Olympics. It kind of activated my heartburn alarm, unfortunately. Those close to me know I’m kind of sensitive to that. Wouldn’t likely buy it again, even if it was on sale.

Emiliana Natura Carmenere. This one is a 2008 and got a little more time to age than some of the other $10-ish malbecs we’ve picked up. Was decent and mellow, and I wold totally buy this one again.

Andean Ridge. I didn’t have much, but Sarah says it was really decent and she would definitely buy it again.

—

Did you make any personal winter booze discoveries?

Please share.

This winter I began my first batch of wine, which is slated for drinking in at Brian and Rebecca’s wedding in June.

This inaugural batch is based on the Coastal Red (Bourgeron Rouge / Red Burgundy) kit from Vinters Reserve. I got it at Northern Brewer in St. Paul, MN. $60 in ingredients will yield roughly 36 bottles of wine.

For this project I treated myself to a new 6-gallon carboy, brew hauler, a drill-mounted aerator, and a Portuguese floor corker, which will be documented shortly.

Here’s a few action-packed photos of the wine moving from the primary to secondary fermenter.

The process seemed strange to me at first, given my orientation towards brewing beer. However, once you get the equipment setup, it’s not terribly difficult. In fact, I look forward to brewing a another batch (Chilean Malbec) later this spring.

The only truly tedious part so far has been washing and de-labeling several dozen bottles, shown below.

Tip: I have found that a warm bath of PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) will help you remove labels with ease. In fact, most labels just float off. It’s environmentally-friendly, too.

On the beer front, Justin has been working on his own lineup (honey porter), which got left me itching to start a beer for the tail-end of winter.

Here’s a few photos of the Scottish 60 i have going, moving from wort to primary and secondary. It undergoes a longer, cooler fermentation. Fewer hops and less boozy.

Things are looking good on the fermentation front. I’ll follow up with bottling and tasting in the next few weeks.

Here’s a list of a things I recall putting in the slow cooker last time I made a batch of chili.

Half bag of pinto beans (pre-soaked overnight)
Can of black beans
Can of whole corn
A big ol’ can of peeled tomatoes
A red pepper
An orange pepper
A few stalks of celery
Some carrots
An onion
A bunch of mushrooms
A zucchini
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
Tablespoon or more chili powder
Bunch of salt
Bunch of pepper
Bunch of italian seasoning
Bunch of additional oregano
Bay leaves
1 boxed thing of liquid vegetable broth

—–
1. Bring some veggie broth to a boil and throw it on top.
2. If you need some extra liquid, boil some filtered water and fill to desired level.
3. Stir it up and then drink some beer (sierra nevada); wait for it to cook for aboot 5 hours (on high heat) or 8 hours (on low heat).

—–
Serve with a splash of lime juice, Bearitos corn chips, and a wad of sour cream or cottage cheese. If it’s really cold out or you’ve had a shitty day, top with additional cheddar cheese.

Serves a dozen people, or makes enough for lunches for a week and a half.

We got about an inch of snow this morning, just enough to cover up the ugly stuff.

A peek out the front door.

I’m making a few batches of beet bread this year. It has become one of my favorite bread recipes.

It includes wite and wheat flour, beet puree, thyme, salt, water, and a touch of garlic. Serve it with goat cheese right out of the oven for further enjoyment.

Critters loafing about. Here’s Sofie after some outdoor snow playtime.

We set up a tree a few weeks ago, which has added a pleasant smell and ambiance to our home.

More critters loafing about. Doing what they do best.

As a side note, I picked up a copy of Pete Seeger’s latest album, “At 89″. It provided this morning’s mellow soundtrack. Here’s a few clips:

Spring Fever

Or Else!

After clicking on any of the images below, hit the “all sizes” button on Flickr to get a larger view.

At the cabin in Johnson Lake, WI

We visited Dustin and Annie at the cabin and had a wonderful weekend. I find the greenery depicted below to be a source of comfort during the winter months.

Views from Manhattan, New York

We took a trip to New York this summer to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful tour.

Museum of Modern Art

From the 106th floor of the Empire State Building

Union Square

Another view of Manhattan from the Empire State Building

Times Square

Bar Great Harry in Brooklyn, New York

Paul with Renda, Jesse, and Eric

Steve and Anna

After clicking on any of the images below, hit the “all sizes” button on Flickr to get a larger view.

Wisconsin Side of Lake Pepin, on Highway 35

This was a particularly gorgeous fall day in October. Sarah and I were traveling southbound toward Nelson, WI.

Views from Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Every corner of Old San Juan holds a gorgeous piece of history. We visited many of the forts in the area, watched the ocean, and caught the mayoral election.

El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico

When we traveled here last winter, the humidity healed up all of my dreadful skin conditions. On top of that, it smelled lovely.

Loquillio Beach in Puerto Rico

I think this was the first of many beaches we visited. The evening sunset was fantastic.

Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis, MN

This is the opposite of Puerto Rico, but it’s home. The sun was already getting low on the horizon before 3:30pm.

Roadside North of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin

Here’s another view along Wisconsin 35, near the chain of little motorcycle-stop towns along the river. I remember the clouds being very dark and in spectacular contrast to the field along the horizon line.

Peering out the window today, it looked pretty daunting.

Snow from the front.

Snow drifts to the back.

Frosty glass on the porch.

Sofie and I attempted to a neighborhood walk together, but she chickened out after three blocks. We’re going to have to work on toughening her up for the winter.

I noticed a few bike paths around town were plowed before the streets. Here’s a quick example:

Here are a few bitter cold views along the creek.

As you can see, the sun is setting pretty early.

Continuing on down the creek path…

Nearing home…

Filthy porches are a clear sign that winter is here.

Along with frozen puppies.