The Anheuser-Busch Brewery is a part of American history. Though I can’t stand beer, per se, but it was fascinating to tour the facility from the standpoint of the science and engineering involved in its production. My friends were enthralled (free beer)... I loved studying the architecture and getting to spend time with the horses.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon while visiting St. Louis. Following the history of beer from ancient societies and cultures worldwide (and doing some research beforehand) made the tour so much more fun.

I highly recommend taking the tour. Fortunately, my friends are mainly academics/broker/business types, so despite the quenching of their thirsty palates, they came away even more able to answer questions on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit. [LOL] You can always go back through again for a second view later, but there is ample time for questions and interactions with the guides during the primary times.

Despite any pretext of “loser heroism” folklore surrounding the glamour of drinking until you are stupid (which I despise), everyone on the tour was well behaved and well educated, overall. Idiocy was discouraged completely, and the one or two “wife-beater t-shirt” elements were in and out and on to the beer and snack bar in 20 minutes. This was a plus, because as anyone knows, it only takes one bad element to spoil things for everyone.

Anyone aggressively American, in the purest sense, will appreciate the Brewery and its founders as well. Understanding the capitalist element of the corporation and the implications of running a large conglomerate during key developmental periods of US history were just the historical tweaks that made touring the facility worth our time. Pretty cool, actually… rising to power as a corporation by assuaging the pedantic needs of the blue collar masses world wide?

And the buildings themselves were so well preserved… Beer lover or not, it is worth the visit just to see the place. The gardens are beautifully maintained, the stables elegant, and it definitely adds a landmark element to the city of St. Louis.