|
|
 |
|
|
The Anheuser-Busch Brewery - St. Louis, MO
|
|
|
|
Ya,ya,ya, lets stop talking about sports for a few days and get into another of life joys: BEER. Beer has to be the most delicious drink on the planet, at least it is for me! It not only
tastes great, but is good for your health and the art and science that is involved into making a good glass of beer is just amazing.
|
|
|
|
This month I will be taking you through a very special tour of one of the most beautiful and impressive breweries in the world, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Anheuser-Busch is well
|
|
|
|
|
|
known as the brewer of Budweiser,
the best selling beer in the world. It is also the largest brewing company producing a volume of more than 100 million barrels of beer per year. A-B brews in 12 locations in the United States and 13 locations overseas, including Canada, Argentina, England, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Philippines, Japan, Korea and China.
|
|
|
|
The St. Louis brewery is not only the largest brewery in the A-B system but its also the location of world headquarters for the corporation. It produces more than 14 million barrels of beer per year (twice more than
the volume that all the Peruvian breweries together produce in one year).
|
|
|
|
The brewing process starts in the brewhouse, where the malt and cereals are ground to produce a rather coarse grits that mixed with water will form the "mash:". The mash sits in the "cookers" for several hours at
different temperatures to catalyze the conversion of starch into fermentable sugars. St. Louis has 18 mash cookers with a capacity of 620 bbl each!!! The mash is ""strained" in the lauter tubs and the wort pumped
into the brewkettles where the wort is boiled f
|
|
|
|
for an hour. This is where the hops are added and very important beer flavors are extracted or developed. A-B uses only the finest aroma hops grown in farms in Idaho, Washington, Hallertau (Germany) and
Spalt (France). The "wort" boils vigorously for about an hour.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The process continues in the fermenting cellars where the wort undergoes a primary fermentation in a 6000 bbls cilindroconical tank where the yeast is pitched and aerated. After 5 days of strong fermentation the wort
becomes beer but there is still a long way to go until it reaches a bottle. The flavors have to mature and this is
|
|
|
|
|
|
done by transferring the beer to a maturation tank where the beer rests for 21 days on top of a beechwood chips bed. This is an ancient brewing tradition, not in use anywhere in the world but for
Budweiser production (at least not in large breweries). A-B
|
|
|
|
|
believes that the beechwood chips improve maturation and help the yeast develop desirable flavors.
|
|
|
|
After maturation the beer is filtered to ensure perfect clarity. Then it is packaged in bottles , cans or kegs. It is very important to mention that at all stages of the brewing process the beer
is tasted to make sure that the correct taste profile is being developed. Tasting is considered the most important part of making a good glass of beer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "220" Taste panel, probably the highest level beer tasting group in the world.
|
|
|
|
If you get the chance to visit St. Louis make sure you include a visit to the Anheuser-Busch brewery. They offer free tours everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (free beer tasting included). The history of the brewery, the
quality of the beer and the friendly atmosphere will make your visit an unforgettable experience.
|
|
|
