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Published: September 19th 2006
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Beer, Glorious Beer!
Inside the Bud Brewery Tuesday September 19
According to the original schedule that I planned, I should be leaving St Louis today. I can’t let its nighttime reputation decide what I want to do during the day, though. I only came here because the Bud Brewery was literally down the street from where I was staying, however I wanted to visit a friend in Indianapolis. Cath was really busy moving houses so I don’t think it was a great time. I suppose there’s always next time.
I packed Baz into my bag and off we hopped to the brewery. There were no bookings required, just a slight interest into the world’s most biggest brewery. After tasting that very flat and tasteless beer in Nashville, I decided to come straight to the source and see whether their beer was always like that.
The buildings were so huge and grand and definitely a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the huge shed I can see if I look out the back to the brewery at work. Inside it’s also a lot more tourist-friendly with nice brassy handles along the staircases and escalators taking us up and down the many levels of the actual processing line.
The tour guides made sure that we knew about the wood oak fermentation process that Bud has to go through before it gets out to the pubs and liquor stores. I was so thirsty by the end of the tour that I had to give it another go!
The beers were served in small half-pint sized glasses (middies), which meant I could drink it as fast as the head would disappear. It seemed that Americans didn’t want a frothy head on their beers, because that was less beer to be drunk! I also had a go of Bud Select, which wasn’t a bad drop at all. Mind you, all of the beers were free of charge (I didn’t pay any admission fee either!) so that could be why they seemed to taste a lot better here. For all of his troubles, Baz received an ‘Honorary Beermaster’ certificate from the gift shop for all of the beers that he had drunk here. The bear was right at home here and there’s no doubt he could have drunken this place dry!
I managed to time my departure from the brewery at the same time as a bus heading into downtown,
so I saved myself from another long walk! I must admit today it was a little less hotter than the past few days in Nashville which definitely makes it a lot more pleasant to explore.
My head was a little woozy after going to the Bud Brewery and not having any breakfast so I decided to get high. I climbed the necessary 630 feet (192m) to the top in a rickety old egg shaped lift that travelled up the insides of the Gateway Arch. It is a symbolic big welcome mat to all those heading west, especially in the spirit of the Lewis and Clark Expedition trail. I decide to educate myself further because at the bottom of the Gateway Arch is a museum known as the Lewis and Clark Museum of Westward Expansion, which charts their expedition all the way to the mouth of the Columbia River, all the way over in Oregon.
The next stop for me was the International Ten Pin Bowls Hall of Fame. Where else could I brush up on my knowledge of the history of ten pin bowls? Especially when I learned that the game was banned in 14th Century England and
19th Century USA! How could they ban a game that is this fun! Or championed a lot more by women than men? For us mere mortals, the 300 will remain elusive but the ITPBHOF is the place that you can see who has done great things with ten pins. Part of the admission price was 4 free frames and if I wanted a badge plus a full game, I would only have to pay a dollar more! I managed a measly 74. The attendant gave me my badge and told me to tell all of you that in fact, I really got 274.
The St Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame is located within the ITPBHOF. I’m sure Henry from behind the bar would have been here a few times since it has opened up. I wonder if any of the sporting teams I follow back home have anything similar.
Back at the bar, Henry was so pleased to hear that I had gone to the Cardinals Hall of Fame. The Cook made me a huge sandwich, which totally satisfied my growling hunger. I hadn’t eaten anything all day and it was equally as painful finding a good restaurant
Bud Brewery - Packaging Line Building
Where all the cans get put into boxes (what i saw that day anyway) in St Louis. This is the first time the Lonely Planet has been inaccurate! Instead they should put this bar in the restaurants section because it was very good, and Henry was in a good mood because tonight, the Cardinals were smashing the Brewers and there was no sign of Mike. The sandwich was so massive that I didn’t even know if I was going to get onto the side dishes, but I make sure I thank the cook and tell him that I am deeply embarrassed I wasn’t able to eat everything.
I see Mike back at the hostel. I ask him if he knew the baseball scores and that was the whole reason why he didn’t bother going to the bar tonight! Before I hit the sack, he tells me of a really good coffee shop down the street. Not on the bad side, either but in good ol’ historic Soulard. I’ll check it out in the morning.
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