Visit the King of Beers at His Castle
Once you arrive you enter throught the atrium and are greeted by staff members and their are signs with directions as to where to go to get your complimentary tickets. Your tickets have the time that your group is set to embark on it’s tour. There can be a wait depending on how many people are touring that day, however it is usually not very long as new tours begin every 10 minutes. If you should encounter a wait there is a museum of sorts in the atrium as well as a gift shop to help pass the time.
Once it is your tour time you will meet up with your tour group, the group I was with had about 40 people. The guide introduced himself and gave the history of how Anheuser-Busch was formed and what we would be seeing on the tour that day. It was a very informative speech and one that you could tell he does multiple times a day.
Our first stop was the stables where we seen the world famous Clydsdale horses and to learn of their history. These magnificent creatures were first brought out in 1933 to celebrate the repeal of prohibition by carrying the first case of legal beer. There are high standards a Clydesdale must meet to be considered to be part of the Budweiser traveling hitches. A Clydesdale must be a neutered male and at least 4 years old. They must also meet the height requirement of 1800-2000 hands and have certain markings. This was a great way to begin the tour and the stables did not really smell that bad.
We next went to the brewhouse where we were told about the ingredients used in making beer.Ground barley malt is mixed with water and milled rice is mixed with water and cooked in a cooker After the rice is cooked it is mixed with the barley mixture and starts to turn into fereintable sugars.The beggining of beer is then strained and the hops are added. I learned that hops are what gives beer its unique flavoring.The beer still goes thru a few more steps with being cooled and having yeast added as well as becoming beechwood aged. Anheuser-Busch is still making beer the same way they have for over the last 100 years. Using stainless steel mash tanks. It was nice to see in world that is constantly changing that this remains a constant.
After that we walked to the production room and actually got to see the beer coming down the line and being packaged. This was fun to watch and the tour guide gave us some facts regarding the amount of beer that is produced and packaged each day. It was a impressive number. This part of the tour reminded me of the opening to Laverne and Shirley with the beer rolling down the lines.
Our final destination was the hospitality room, where those aged 21 and over could enjoy 2 complimentary beers or soft drinks and pretzels. We were checked for Id at the door by a police officer or guard. I was unable to tell the difference. It was nice being able to choose a beer that is produced by the company however sold in a different region, and to taste some of the new drinks that are coming out.
I felt this was a great day trip to take. The tour and the hospitality room are both free. There is quite a bit of walking involved, however it is not too taxing. The gift shop has many souviners for every budget. Both the staff and tour guides were very professional as well as courteous. I would recommend this tour to anyone who lives in or is visiting St Louis. You wont be sorry you seen it. For more information on tours visit www.budweisertours.com
