Anheuser Busch / Budweiser Brewery Tour
1-Budweiser has been brewed since 1876 and is known around the world for its uncompromising commitment to quality. The "King of Beers" is brewed using only the finest, all-natural ingredients and a time-honored brewing process. A combination of art and science, the Budweiser brewing process combines traditional brewing methods with the latest technological innovations. The result is an all-natural process that ages the beer slowly and naturally. Anheuser-Busch Brewmasters taste the beer during each step to ensure its consistency and taste.
2-Today, Budweiser is brewed using the same standards as those used by Adolphus Busch more than 100 years ago. These are the stainless steel mash tanks where the brewing process begins as we mix ground barley malt with water. Milled rice is mixed with water in a cooker. The rice is boiled and combined with the malt in the mash tank. There, natural enzymes in the malt break down the grain's starch into fermentable sugars. STRAINING-The mixture from the mash tanks is strained, separating a clear, sweet amber liquid called wort from the spent grain husks.
3-After the mixture from the mash tanks is strained, the wort is transferred into brew kettles and brought to a boil. Natural hops are added and the boil continues. Hops are the spice of beer, lending their special flavor, aroma, and character. COOLING-Before fermentation, the wort is pumped through a vessel called a wort receiver. Now, the wort is cooled to a proper temperature for receiving yeast.
4-PRIMARY FERMENTATION-Yeast (Budweiser yeast is a lager yeast) is added to the cooled wort in the primary fermentation tanks. It can take up to 6 days for the yeast to convert the fermentable sugars to carbon dioxide and alcohol. During this stage of the brewing process, the wort becomes beer. LAGERING-After a layer of beechwood chips is spread on the bottom of the lager tanks, the beer is transferred into the tanks. A portion of freshly yeasted wort called Kraeusen is added. Lagering is part of secondary fermentation in which the yeast settles on the beechwood chips and works until the beer is completely fermented. As secondary fermentation occurs, the beer is naturally carbonated and its final flavor develops - resulting in a smooth-tasting beer. This process is unique to Anheuser-Busch.
5-FILTERING-After the Lagering process, the beer is chilled, stabilized, and filtered. Following the chillproofing, the beer is stored in settling tanks at 32° for 2 days to complete settling. It is then given a final filtering. TASTING-At each step in the process, the beer is tasted by a Brewmaster to ensure consistency and drinkability. After the final filtration, the beer is held in a filtered beer tank for a final quality control check and Brewmaster tasting. Now the beer is ready to be packaged.
6-FILLING-The packaging process begins with the bottle rinser where bottles are rinsed inside and out, filled, and instantly crowned to retain their natural carbonation. The bottles then pass by an electronic inspection device, before they go to the pasteurizers. Adolphus Busch introduced pasteurization to Anheuser-Busch in the 1870s, two decades before milk was pasteurized in the United States. Pasteurization allows our packaged beer to be shipped and stored without refrigeration. After the bottles emerge from the pasteurizers, they continue to the labelers, where the distinctive Anheuser-Busch labels are applied. Draught beer is refrigerated at all times and does not have to be pasteurized. Our canning process follows similar steps. PACKAGING-The finished beer is packaged into bottles, cans and draft kegs. Packaging lines are capable of filling up to millions of cans and bottles per day. The draft beer line is capable of producing the equivalent of 2.3 million 12 oz. containers per day. SHIPPING-The filled containers are put into cartons and conveyed to the warehouse where they are stacked on pallets for shipment. Beer is transported from one out of twelve regional breweries to an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler for distribution to local markets.
Anheuser Busch / Budweiser Brewery Tour
1-Budweiser has been brewed since 1876 and is known around the world for its uncompromising commitment to quality. The "King of Beers" is brewed using only the finest, all-natural ingredients and a time-honored brewing process. A combination of art and science, the Budweiser brewing process combines traditional brewing methods with the latest technological innovations. The result is an all-natural process that ages the beer slowly and naturally. Anheuser-Busch Brewmasters taste the beer during each step to ensure its consistency and taste.
2-Today, Budweiser is brewed using the same standards as those used by Adolphus Busch more than 100 years ago. These are the stainless steel mash tanks where the brewing process begins as we mix ground barley malt with water. Milled rice is mixed with water in a cooker. The rice is boiled and combined with the malt in the mash tank. There, natural enzymes in the malt break down the grain's starch into fermentable sugars. STRAINING-The mixture from the mash tanks is strained, separating a clear, sweet amber liquid called wort from the spent grain husks.
3-After the mixture from the mash tanks is strained, the wort is transferred into brew kettles and brought to a boil. Natural hops are added and the boil continues. Hops are the spice of beer, lending their special flavor, aroma, and character. COOLING-Before fermentation, the wort is pumped through a vessel called a wort receiver. Now, the wort is cooled to a proper temperature for receiving yeast.
4-PRIMARY FERMENTATION-Yeast (Budweiser yeast is a lager yeast) is added to the cooled wort in the primary fermentation tanks. It can take up to 6 days for the yeast to convert the fermentable sugars to carbon dioxide and alcohol. During this stage of the brewing process, the wort becomes beer. LAGERING-After a layer of beechwood chips is spread on the bottom of the lager tanks, the beer is transferred into the tanks. A portion of freshly yeasted wort called Kraeusen is added. Lagering is part of secondary fermentation in which the yeast settles on the beechwood chips and works until the beer is completely fermented. As secondary fermentation occurs, the beer is naturally carbonated and its final flavor develops - resulting in a smooth-tasting beer. This process is unique to Anheuser-Busch.
5-FILTERING-After the Lagering process, the beer is chilled, stabilized, and filtered. Following the chillproofing, the beer is stored in settling tanks at 32° for 2 days to complete settling. It is then given a final filtering. TASTING-At each step in the process, the beer is tasted by a Brewmaster to ensure consistency and drinkability. After the final filtration, the beer is held in a filtered beer tank for a final quality control check and Brewmaster tasting. Now the beer is ready to be packaged.
6-FILLING-The packaging process begins with the bottle rinser where bottles are rinsed inside and out, filled, and instantly crowned to retain their natural carbonation. The bottles then pass by an electronic inspection device, before they go to the pasteurizers. Adolphus Busch introduced pasteurization to Anheuser-Busch in the 1870s, two decades before milk was pasteurized in the United States. Pasteurization allows our packaged beer to be shipped and stored without refrigeration. After the bottles emerge from the pasteurizers, they continue to the labelers, where the distinctive Anheuser-Busch labels are applied. Draught beer is refrigerated at all times and does not have to be pasteurized. Our canning process follows similar steps. PACKAGING-The finished beer is packaged into bottles, cans and draft kegs. Packaging lines are capable of filling up to millions of cans and bottles per day. The draft beer line is capable of producing the equivalent of 2.3 million 12 oz. containers per day. SHIPPING-The filled containers are put into cartons and conveyed to the warehouse where they are stacked on pallets for shipment. Beer is transported from one out of twelve regional breweries to an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler for distribution to local markets.