Minnie & The Hubster

SANTY CLAUSE      It's that time of year again. Time for the Hubster and I to pull out the holiday decorations. As always, there is one special decoration, I look forward each year to putting up-the Santy Clause Wreath. Here's the story:      Years ago when the Hubster and I first moved to the neighborhood and were the young couple on the block, our older neighbors had a unique way of decorating for Autumn. One neighbor proudly displayed Democrat candidates' signs in his front yard for the upcoming election. Not to be outdone, the neighbor next door would put up Republican candidates' signs running for office. The Hubster and I smirked at their competitive nature.      However, our neighbors across the street, Marsh and Anna, would start putting up Christmas decorations. Keep in mind, it is October. Marsh would be outside on a ladder, putting up Christmas lights, reindeers, and stars. Anna would stand next to the ladder, with a tape me...

  Front entrance to the beautiful barn known as Duesterbeck's Brewing Company (Cover photo of Duesterbeck's facebook page)      Remember taking the kids to the farm to pick out pumpkins? Now, you can take your adult kids to the farm again, to enjoy a beer. Why? Duesterbeck's Brewing Company, located on a farm on County O, just outside Elkhorn, has just opened. The microbrewery is owned by Laura (nee Duesterbeck) and her husband, Ben Johnson, a dentist in Delavan. Ben has been making beer since he was in his late teens, and the brewing company is a natural progression to his passion, and to keep the family farm going. Duesterbeck's Label      We first learned about Duesterbeck's in March from a young  friend who knows the family. So, the Hubster and I have been diligently following their progress on Facebook. It has been a long and arduous undertaking for the brewing company. After deciding the old barn could not be renovated, there was ...

The ad for patrons to get excited for the Firkin Walk      To celebrate the Hubster's birthday, our eldest millennial gave him tickets to the Firkin Walk in Appleton, Wisconsin. I am more of a wine person, but the Hubster does enjoy a good beer. The walk consisted of 10 establishments along College Avenue, and a couple near the Fox River. So in mid-September, we went on our first Firkin Walk. WHAT IS A FIRKIN? The Firkin containing cask ale.      A Firkin is a small barrel of craft beer, usually referred to as cask ale; the barrel is a quarter the size of the standard size barrel of beer. Traditionally, the Firkin is a wooden vessel and can contain about 10.79 gallons. The Firkins on our walk were small aluminum kegs. The beer is called a cask ale which means it is locally made with a short shelf life. The cask ale/beer is not clarified, pasteurized, or forced carbonated. Natural carbonation takes place in the second fermentation in the Firkin. ...

     In today's blog, I have two distinct experiences to share about wine tastings. When the Hubster and I walk into a winery tasting room, we are greeted by a wine "sommelier," in colloquial terms, a wine guide. There are beer sommeliers as well; they are called "Cicerones." However this post is about wine tasting experiences, and so, no beer. But, I promise to write about breweries and beer flights in a future blog.      The word, tasting, first appeared around 1519; and, formal wine tasting started in the 18th century. To me, wine tasting is an experience that is organic as well as historic. Remember grapevines have been in existence for centuries. Today's hybrids are connected to those historic grapevines. Even in the sky, grapevines are given credit. The third brightest star, Vindemiatrix, in the constellation of Virgo, means grape gatherer/harvester. EXPERIENCE #1: The refurbished barn that housed the tasting room of winery.    ...

Last month the Hubster and I visited the Finger Lakes Wine Country in New York. The Finger Lakes are comprised of eleven different lakes, looking like fingers, geographically speaking. Artistic sculpture of the 11 Finger Lakes, found at Captain's Cafe in Geneva, NY.  Out of the eleven different lakes, there are seven different lake wine trails. Out of these seven, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, the Canadaiga Lake Wine Trail, The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, and the Keuka Lake Wine Trail are the most popular. We concentrated primarily on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail because it had the most wineries. With around 110 wineries in the entire Finger Lakes region, there is just so much one mature Mid-Western couple could do. How did the Finger Lakes Wine Country get started? This is how it was explained to me by one of the vineyards; between 1860-1880, many wineries came and went around Keuka Lake. However, by 1880, the Taylor Wine Company became successful in the region. The Taylors so...