Free Beer in St. Louis

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September 2009

The best part of any industrial tour is the free samples at the end, and of all the factory tours we have taken, nobody does free samples better than the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour.

On a rainy Labor Day weekend in St. Louis we took the Brewery Tour at the Anheuser-Busch plant with our best friends Rod & Mary. The plant is located just off I55 at Exit 206C. We arrived just after ten, and found the free tours were running every 15 minutes.

Be sure to bring your walking shoes, and as in our case, your umbrella. This is not one of those faux industrial tours that transport you along on a tram viewing videos of what is happening elsewhere in the plant. Here you will experience a very well done factory tour. We had the pleasure to be escorted by two young ladies who were both very personable and knowledgeable. Before leaving the lobby, which is a mini-museum and gift shop, we were given a short history of both Anheuser and Busch, and how they began their individual businesses, and later their partnership.

The first stop on the tour was the Budweiser Clydesdale Stable. On our visit we were able to see four horses. You will learn the history of the Clydesdale association with Anheuser-Busch, and view a wagon and tack. At stop two you visit the Lager Cellar. Stop three gives you a crash course in the brewing of beer. After a brief tour of the Brew House we were off to the Packaging Facility. If you're lucky, you'll actually get to see the cans or bottles whisking along and getting filled, capped, labeled, and packed. Unfortunately for us, the line was shut down.

After visiting the packaging facility we boarded a shuttle and a short trip back to the Visitor's Center where we were given what we've wanted at every stop along the tour: Free Beer! (Soda is available for kids and those who do not drink beer.)

Unlike a recent tour of the Ben & Jerry's facility in Vermont where we were given a miniscule sample, and I might add the tour was not free, here you'll be given TWO full-sized glasses of your favorite Anheuser-Busch brew. Now that's worth the free admission!

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