I need a drink - Jason Shoultz

In episode 405 we visit Schell's brewery in New Ulm, Minnesota. The President, Ted Marti showed me around their historic brewery on the Minnesota River. The operation has been in the family for more tha 145 years. It's the second oldest family owned and managed brewery in the U.S.

I admit, I'm a beer drinker (have to stay true to my German roots), so I was looking forward to this story. There was another reason why I was excited about visiting Schell's. Frankly, I needed a beer. Take a look at this photo and you'll get an idea why...

The "no whining" sticker inside my production folder turned out to be a perfect sentiment for the first part of our Minnesota trip. A late-season winter storm blasted the state on our first day of our shoot there.

We typically shoot a handful of segments in each state during our visit. The storm hit while we were learning how pickles were made in Chaska, Minnesota. Fortunately making pickles is done inside, so we didn't have to do any shooting in the blizzard.

But we did have to drive...and that was a little challenging.

That was left to photographer Steve Riggs. He's comes from a news photographer background, so I'm usually telling him, "slow down, there's no fire." In this case I was just trying to convince him that talking on the cell phone while driving in a blizzard isn't the best of ideas.

But we made it to our hotel in Hutchinson...

...decided against a romance package and went for two standard rooms.

We took comfort in hearing the locals tell us that the winter had been generally pretty mild, until this storm hit.

A few days later, the weather warmed up a bit just in time for a tall cold one with Ted Marti at Schell's.

It's safe to say beer is in Ted Marti's blood. Not in a "blood alcohol content" kind of way. It's just that brewing beer has been in his family for generations. Ted is a pretty no-nonsense guy who takes his beer-making pretty seriously. I don't consider myself an afficianado, but I learned quite a bit about brewing beer on this visit.

If you are ever near New Ulm, Minnesota be sure to stop by the brewery. It is open for tours and there is a very nice museum and gift shop. Even if you aren't a beer fan, the historic buildings are worth your time. And if you ARE a beer-drinker, I recommend trying the "Maifest." It's a seasonal brew sold in the Spring...which I THOUGHT was in April.

And tell them Jason sent you!

Now that's a lot of food!

There are times when being a reporter for America's Heartland has its perks.

For an upcoming segment, we recently visited the Bellagio Hotel Buffet and got an exclusive tour of the facility from Executive Chef Wolfgang Von Weiser. Wolfgang is a native of Austria who began cooking Sunday dinner as a young man so he could get out of going to church with his family. Now he's in charge of dozens of chefs in all of the the Bellagio's restaurants.

When you watch the segment, you'll get a chance to see the heartland's harvest on display. Fresh vegetables, meats, cheeses, fruit...it's all there. And folks eat it up!

Of course I couldn't visit this bountiful buffet without picking up a plate myself!

Jason Shoultz / Reporter-Producer America's Heartland