Budweiser Tour - Worth It?

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by NizzleEGizzle, Jul 19, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. NizzleEGizzle

    NizzleEGizzle Savant (1,055) Feb 25, 2015 New York
    Trader

    Hi All!

    I don't want to start a dumpster fire here -- but I am headed to St. Louis this weekend, and I am interested in hitting the Budweiser brewery tour.

    I am a craft beer advocate through and through, and am not a fan of Budweiser even in the world of crappy adjunct lagers (give me a cold Coors every times).

    HOWEVER -- I am a history buff, and I love culture. From those two perspectives I am attracted to the brewery with its historic building and symbol of Americana.

    Is the tour worth my time? Do you see the historical brewery? Old equipment? Get a sense of the Budweiser's history? History of beer in America?

    If it helps you contextualize: I did the Heineken tour in Amsterdam (granted before I was really into craft beer) and I did not like it. It was so sterilized and the tour leaders were college kids with little to no beer knowledge.
     
    #1 NizzleEGizzle, Jul 19, 2017
  2. Vitacca

    Vitacca Pooh-Bah (2,250) Sep 15, 2010 Montana
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Do you know anyone that works for a Bud distributor? If so, have them sign you up for the Brewmaster tour. I wouldn't pay for it but for free it's worth it. The best thing about the free tour is seeing the Clydesdales, otherwise I'd pass.
     
    #2 Vitacca, Jul 19, 2017
  3. DCintheMSP

    DCintheMSP Devotee (323) Jan 8, 2014 Minnesota

    Eh, as a way to pass the time it is certainly worth it. You get free samples at the end and I believe the last time I went they had Goose Island stuff on tap, so you might be able to get something that isn't Bud. It's a neat look at the history of the brewery and beer in America through the years. It's really amazing to see the massive undertaking it requires to produce the volume of beer they do and to make everything as consistent (good or bad, it's consistent) as they do is pretty incredible. It only takes about 90 minutes and it's free, so if you have time to kill I would say go ahead and check it out.

    EDIT: The tour leaders are knowledgeable, but it is definitely a corporate-run tour, meant for the "common folk" not the true beer nerd. So in that respect, you would probably not enjoy it as much. Take the extra time and hit up a couple more places around STL, or just spend another two hours at Side Project.
     
    #3 DCintheMSP, Jul 19, 2017
  4. NizzleEGizzle

    NizzleEGizzle Savant (1,055) Feb 25, 2015 New York
    Trader

    Thanks for this! Many hours at Side Project already accounted for in this trip.

    Sounds like it's worth the time based on your experience. Would you recommend the complimentary tour, or perhaps the beer museum tour?
     
    #4 NizzleEGizzle, Jul 19, 2017
  5. DCintheMSP

    DCintheMSP Devotee (323) Jan 8, 2014 Minnesota

    I never took the beer museum tour so I am not able to speak to that. I used to live in STL, so I took a few trips to the regular tour with out of towners. They always seemed to enjoy it. Be sure to check my previous edit to the comment I originally put in. It's definitely a "tourist" tour, not a hard-core beer geek tour, but I enjoyed it every time.
     
    #5 DCintheMSP, Jul 19, 2017
  6. DriftlessFarmer

    DriftlessFarmer Initiate (0) Dec 15, 2016 Iowa

    A buddy of mine who is an avid craft beer fan took the tour and loved it. He said the sampled fresh Budweiser was actually pretty damn tasty, all things considered.
     
    #6 DriftlessFarmer, Jul 20, 2017
    LuskusDelph likes this.
  7. macgroveguy

    macgroveguy Initiate (0) Jan 22, 2015 Minnesota

    Seeing the multistory fermenters was really surreal. You also get a free piece of used beechwood (no joke!). I'd recommend it.
     
    #7 macgroveguy, Jul 20, 2017
  8. evilcatfish

    evilcatfish Pooh-Bah (2,116) May 11, 2012 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Honestly, the AB tour is the best brewery tour I've ever been on, seems the tours at most all smaller breweries are pretty boring. Even if you don't like Bud its cool to learn about the history and see the place. Also, you'll be close to Bogart's BBQ, International Tap House, 4 Hands brewery and Square 1 Brewery.
     
    #8 evilcatfish, Jul 20, 2017
    LuskusDelph, BrettHead, Jaycase and 1 other person like this.
  9. montman

    montman Maven (1,444) Mar 10, 2009 Virginia
    Trader

    As a tourist that was in STL for a wedding and had a day to kill, we took the tour and definitely enjoyed it. If nothing else the sheer size/scale of everything is pretty impressive. The tour is pretty general & a few things they say could be considered kind of funny to a beer nerd, but it was worth it for us.
     
    #9 montman, Jul 20, 2017
  10. MNBeerGeek

    MNBeerGeek Initiate (0) Jun 25, 2013 Minnesota

    Another vote for the "really enjoyed it" side. I thought it was pretty fun to see the brewing process on such a massive scale.
     
    #10 MNBeerGeek, Jul 20, 2017
  11. Piels25

    Piels25 Savant (1,034) Dec 17, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    I'll be in town Tuesday night, arriving just after 7 PM. Which of these would be your must hit given the time constraints? I'm assuming ITP over Flying Saucer? Thanks!
     
    #11 Piels25, Jul 21, 2017
  12. evilcatfish

    evilcatfish Pooh-Bah (2,116) May 11, 2012 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yea I'd skip Flying Saucer. Itap, 4 Hands or Square 1 are all solid options. Itap doesn't have food but you can bring in Bogarts or order Mission Taco from next door. You can't really go wrong with any of them
     
    #12 evilcatfish, Jul 21, 2017
  13. KiddVideo

    KiddVideo Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2015 Minnesota

    I am no Budweiser guy by any means but I for want to vist one of the biggest breweries on the planet.
     
    #13 KiddVideo, Jul 21, 2017
    LuskusDelph likes this.
  14. NizzleEGizzle

    NizzleEGizzle Savant (1,055) Feb 25, 2015 New York
    Trader

    Hey All!

    Just got back from St. Louis and we did indeed go on the Budweiser tour! I really enjoyed walking around the space, seeing the scale of their operation (fermenters, piping carrying beer from building to buildings, GIANT HORSES), feeling the history of the buildings and equipment there (especially the DOPE hop chandeliers set up in the wort/kettle room -- man I need one of those for my apartment).

    The content of the tour was about as watery as a warm Bud Light, but one of my tour guides was pretty well informed so I got many of my history questions answered as we walked from stop to stop.

    Overall, very happy I went! The whole time I was there I was comparing the Bud tour with the Cantillon "tour" I did in Belgium. Equally fascinating beer pilgrimage sites for such drastically different experiences.

    Thanks everyone for weighing in!
     
    #14 NizzleEGizzle, Jul 24, 2017
  15. LuskusDelph

    LuskusDelph Initiate (0) May 1, 2008 New Jersey

    Funnier than the beer nerds themselves???? That's hard to imagine. :flushed:
     
    #15 LuskusDelph, Jul 25, 2017
    Chaz likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.