Not just a little something's brewing. About 266 million gallons of beer a year is brewing. That's at the Jacksonville, Florida, Anheuser-Busch brewery. Only five of the twelve AB breweries have tours, and even though I've spent most of my years since 1969 (the year this brewery opened) in Jacksonville, this is the first time I've taken the tour. Jacksonville brews 12 different types of beer products, with Michelob, Budweiser, and Busch taking the lead. This plant is the sole maker of Landshark, and it's labeled as the Margaritaville Brewing Company (you know, Jimmy Buffet?). At the conclusion of the tour, we were invited by our host Steve to linger in the hospitality room and sample any of the products. Who could turn down an offer like that?
Adolphus Busch (the second youngest of 22 children!) and Eberhard Anheuser teamed up around 1860 to save a failing brewery in St. Louis. Budweiser was their early success, and the name "Budweiser" was actually made up. It had a Germanic sound (Germany being renoun for beer) and was easy for Americans to pronounce. Prohibition from 1920-1933 challenged the company greatly, so when Prohibition was repealed, it was cause to celebrate, and August Busch Jr. gave his father, August Sr. a team of Clydesdales. They used those Clydesdales as part of their marketing, and today Clydesdales are one of the best known advertising symbols in American history.
Each one of the lager tanks (pictured in a long row) holds the equivalent of 67,000 6-packs of beer! The brewery's Brewmaster taste tests beers every day, and samples are sent to St. Louis from each brewery, where they are taste-tested again. Tough job! I don't think you'll find any Brewmasters giving up beer as their New Year's resolution.
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