An Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour

It seems that Conservative Boy and I are into Midwestern breweries lately. The weekend before last we made a stop at the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. in Chippewa Falls, WI. Then, this weekend, en route to a St. Louis wedding, we took a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in STL.

(Fortunately beer is still beer or Conservative Boy may have boycotted since the company was recently sold.)

The first stop on the tour? Why, a hello to the famous Clydesdales, of course. Isn't this one a beaut?



We quickly moved on, of course. To more important things like the tack that goes on the Clydesdales. And the beautiful Budweiser crate-laden carriages they pull.



I guess the room in which this pretty red carriage is contained is famous. Or historical. Or something. But I didn't actually listen to much of the tour. I was too busy running around taking random photos, mostly because it drives Conservative Boy crazy.



Next we moved on to the room in which all the magic happens. These are the giant vats in which the famous beechwood aging process happens. These guys are huge! (And cold. Very cold.)

In case you are wondering what exactly happens in these vats, I will tell you. Beer rests here for aging, clarification, and natural carbonation. After aging, the beer passes through a special filtering process and then is ready for packaging. (And if you think I remembered that, you're crazy. I took a picture of the sign that informed us of those facts. Smart, eh?)

And then we were back outside, where it was much warmer.



And then we were inside again.



Yes, these are more vats of some sort.

And then we were outside again. Betcha you've never seen this sign before.



Now for the good part: Watching the lovely bottles of Bud-Light racing around the factory floor. Man, all this picture taking made me thirsty.



So I guess it's a good thing our next stop was the tasting room.

First up, of course, was a beautiful fresh-from-the-barrel Bud-Light.



And then an Amber Bach. What can I say? I'm an amber kind of girl.



(And, apparently, a brewery tour kind of girl.)