Toured Budweiser brewery, came out changed

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krispy3d

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We toured the Budweiser brewhouse in Fairfield a couple weekends back and I walked away with an enormous appreciation for that crew. I know they’re a conglomerated monster of a company and that the brewers are connected to a monstrous corporation with devious marketers and all, but these brewers take their beer seriously and they do all the same stuff the “craft beer” industry is doing, all the same stuff I appreciate about the smaller breweries, just on a different scale. The plant is huge on recycling waste and using renewable power. They age Budweiser on beech wood, which is no small task for the volumes they produce, as some poor sap has to rake it all into these huge tanks by hand and then clean it all out afterwards. They naturally carbonate their beer using that "bunging" procedure (just like Anchor, I'll add, who makes a big freaking deal out of it). They proudly use rice to smooth the feel of their beer into what it is. They only brew their beer to order (whatever distributors order, not a drop more) and they take shelf-life seriously (yes, they do, even if distributors and sellers don't, they will buy back old beer). In short, I will certainly speak up the next time a beer nerd tries to tell me Budweiser is mass-produced garbage.

Eh?
 
One of my partners worked for Anheiser and really describes an amazing commitment to quality. There is nowhere to hide in that beer as far as flavor or color. The consistency with huge variables is remarkable. So, I don't drink Bud very often but when I do, I do it with a nod to their efforts at quality. May not love it but I respect it
 
By the way, the souvenir from the tour is a piece of beech wood from their tanks before being used. I'm going to brew something light and throw it in a secondary for a week so I can scream at people when I share it with them, "It's beech wood aged!" I might also triple-hop it.
 
krispy3d said:
By the way, the souvenir from the tour is a piece of beech wood from their tanks before being used. I'm going to brew something light and throw it in a secondary for a week so I can scream at people when I share it with them, "It's beech wood aged!" I might also triple-hop it.

Didn't get any beechwood on the stl tour. Did get a look at some massive horses that have tiffany glass in their stable and a look at their control room which has more buttons, switches, and gizmos than nasa's mission control room.
 
Brulosopher said:
I like macro beer the same way I like Taco Bell. It's pretty damn good for the price. Hating it, or at least verbalizing that hate, only serves the purpose of emphasizing one's *****ebagery.

A case of BL isnt much less than some of the craft beers these days....just saying. Kinda like a meal deal at McDs isnt much less than some 5 guys.
 
skeezerpleezer said:
A case of BL isnt much less than some of the craft beers these days....just saying. Kinda like a meal deal at McDs isnt much less than some 5 guys.

Good point... and I still scarf me some McD's occasionally, despite being just as close to a 5 Guys :)
 
Brulosopher said:
I like macro beer the same way I like Taco Bell. It's pretty damn good for the price. Hating it, or at least verbalizing that hate, only serves the purpose of emphasizing one's *****ebagery.

I like macro beer the same way I like Taco Bell. It's the only damn thing available in this tiny town!
 
Do you guys know that among the employee incentives, is a homebrewing Club? They actually have an amazing amount of support systems and internal organizations for their employees, including a large company wide homebrewing club. One of their members was on here for awhile. AHB was actually giving hops and other stuff to the club.

It's on the employee resources page.

Employee-Resource-Groups-1.jpg


They call them ERGs, Employee Resource Group

Great People Make a Company Great

Home » Our Company » Our People » Employee Resource Groups

To further our commitment to diversity and support the company’s business objectives, we have established Anheuser-Busch Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). The ERGs provide education, awareness, and professional growth and development opportunities for employees. The groups are:

Creating Real Opportunities for Women’s Networking (CROWN) – Women’s ERG
Hispanic and Latino (HoLa) – Hispanic and Latino ERG
Black Leaders Achieving Diversity through Engagement (BLADE) – African American ERG
Asian Pacific Islander (PAC-ASIA) – Asian and Pacific Islander ERG
Employee Alliance Group of Leadership and Engagement (EAGLE) – gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and friends ERG
Community Action Project (CAP) – Community Service ERG
BUD employees Supporting Armed forces & Veterans Everywhere (BUDSAVE) – military support ERG
Home Brewers ERG

There's a discussion about their club here....
 
One of my partners worked for Anheiser and really describes an amazing commitment to quality. There is nowhere to hide in that beer as far as flavor or color. The consistency with huge variables is remarkable. So, I don't drink Bud very often but when I do, I do it with a nod to their efforts at quality. May not love it but I respect it

Creating a consistent gallon of gasoline from crude oil is one helluva task as well, but I certainly don't want to drink it.

I acknowledge their efforts, but likewise... I don't want to drink it.
 
While I admire there technical abilities I think their beer is crap. I'm sorry but when the most noticeable flavor is acetaldehyde it's not a quality product.

Now I know they are capable of making great beer. Anybody remember the hefeweizen under the Michelob label a few years ago?
 
dannypo said:
While I admire there technical abilities I think their beer is crap. I'm sorry but when the most noticeable flavor is acetaldehyde it's not a quality product.

Now I know they are capable of making great beer. Anybody remember the hefeweizen under the Michelob label a few years ago?

Huh? You get green apple when you drink a Bud? Thems some taste buds! I hope you never judge my beer ;)
 
Brulosopher said:
Huh? You get green apple when you drink a Bud? Thems some taste buds! I hope you never judge my beer ;)

When first started getting into craft beer I would drink a lot of Budweiser. Never noticed that flavor because it had been my beer of choice since I started drinking.

One day I was talking to this guy I worked with about beer after work. He told me to take a drink of my Bud and think green apples. Have never been able to drink that beer since without picking up that flavor.
 
The "drink this and think of ____" trick can be done to find almost anything in any beer. This is why beer labels often have long descriptions about what you should taste and smell. This primer for your senses is powerful. It's also why genuine taste tests are blind.
 
krispy3d said:
The "drink this and think of ____" trick can be done to find almost anything in any beer. This is why beer labels often have long descriptions about what you should taste and smell. This primer for your senses is powerful. It's also why genuine taste tests are blind.

And why my beers taste like gold.
 
I like macro beer the same way I like Taco Bell. It's pretty damn good for the price. Hating it, or at least verbalizing that hate, only serves the purpose of emphasizing one's *****ebagery.

Every now and then you have to eat off the dollar menu. I love the dollar cheeze burgers at MC's. Normaly I have a case of a miller or budproduct in the house. i enjoy them
 
Gear101 said:
Every now and then you have to eat off the dollar menu. I love the dollar cheeze burgers at MC's. Normaly I have a case of a miller or budproduct in the house. i enjoy them

Cheers, pal. Lately, I keep Keystone Light on hand... and don't whine like a b*tch about it ;)
 
Brulosopher said:
Cheers, pal. Lately, I keep Keystone Light on hand... and don't whine like a b*tch about it ;)

I actually prefer a good stone to all the rest of the swill. If I wasn't drinking craft brews I was drinking keystone while in college.
 
The "drink this and think of ____" trick can be done to find almost anything in any beer. This is why beer labels often have long descriptions about what you should taste and smell. This primer for your senses is powerful. It's also why genuine taste tests are blind.

Yep. I really dislike Bud, but there's definitely no acetaldehyde in it. That's a major flaw, and it isn't something that can be masked in a light lager like that. It's also pretty easy to fix. If it ever happened in one batch, I can pretty much guarantee that the folks at AB would get it taken care of ASAP.
 
They age Budweiser on beech wood... They proudly use rice...

Beech Wood you say.... Maybe that's why i get headaches from anything with "Bud" in the name. an unexplainable phenomenon that stems from Bud and Bud only. I drink one or 2 Budweiser, BL, BL Lime...s and i have nasty hang over type headache within an hour. I drink a lot of beer. Large scale and small. and am always trying new micro brews and craft beers. I am still dumfounded at these headaches. No problems with Miller, Michelobe, Keystone, or any other 'monstrous' beer. Thought maybe it was the rice for a long time too...

Anyone else experience this?
 
Now I know they are capable of making great beer. Anybody remember the hefeweizen under the Michelob label a few years ago?


Was that 'Crossroads Hefeweizen'. I only got one six pack and I recall it was good.
 
LoneWolfPR said:
Yep. I really dislike Bud, but there's definitely no acetaldehyde in it. That's a major flaw, and it isn't something that can be masked in a light lager like that. It's also pretty easy to fix. If it ever happened in one batch, I can pretty much guarantee that the folks at AB would get it taken care of ASAP.

Hate to tell you but it is there. Maybe you don't taste it but I'm not the only one. I have heard it from many others. Just did a quick google search and it is all over the place.

Sorry but when people tell me I dont taste what I taste it pisses me off.
 
Yep. I really dislike Bud, but there's definitely no acetaldehyde in it. That's a major flaw, and it isn't something that can be masked in a light lager like that. It's also pretty easy to fix. If it ever happened in one batch, I can pretty much guarantee that the folks at AB would get it taken care of ASAP.

Ah, but there is. It's subtle, but it's a distinct characteristic of their yeast. It's a delicate balance with such a light lager, and it's no mistake.

From the description of the commercially available lager yeast strain from A-B:
This yeast is used to produce American style lagers. Dry and clean with a very slight apple fruitiness. Sulfur and diacetyl production is minimal.
 
Tiber_Brew said:
Ah, but there is. It's subtle, but it's a distinct characteristic of their yeast. It's a delicate balance with such a light lager, and it's no mistake.

From the description of the commercially available lager yeast strain from A-B:

Acetaldehyde usually dissipates with chilling and minimal age. That slight "apple fruitiness" may not necessarily be acetaldehyde, but a characteristic of the yeast..? I don't know. But I'm going to a AAA baseball game tomorrow night and plan on chugging a few Buds... happily. Who f*cking cares?!?! Homebrewing is not a pretentious sport...
 
An apple character from yeast other than acetaldehyde? Possibly. Ethyl-2-methylbutyrate has a ripe apple aroma at 0.1 ppb threshold, but I'm not sure whether it's in Budweiser, or at what concentration.

If I recall correctly, A-B has an acetaldehyde concentration of 6 ppm, which is above the flavor threshold. I can't remember where I heard/read this, so it might have to be confirmed.

Regardless, there is certainly an apple character, and they admit at least some of it comes from their yeast. It's there on purpose; otherwise it wouldn't be there at all.
 
The "drink this and think of ____" trick can be done to find almost anything in any beer. This is why beer labels often have long descriptions about what you should taste and smell. This primer for your senses is powerful. It's also why genuine taste tests are blind.

And why my beers taste like gold.

Wow.... maybe that explains it... I was contemplating a good time with my girl, and took a sip of one of my homebrews and it tasted just like A$$. I dumped the bottle and figured it was an infection:confused:



LOL:ban:
 
Pretty cool to see the homebrew side of A&B.

I interviewed for A&B back in 2000 or so for a Database Admin position; they absolutely loved the fact that I was a homebrewer. They even split up the position in 2 to hire me, but I ended up passing on the job for $$$ reasons.

On an interesting side note, it was the first time where I had a beer at lunchtime during a job interview. You can easily imagine that I didn't order a Miller.

MC
 
Thanks for the post, this (and the Jelly Belly factory) has been on my list of "to-do"s before leaving Davis.
 
At the Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers in Chicago last year, there was a large MillerCoors showing. I was skeptical at first but was gladly proven way wrong. The brewers there are just as talented as anywhere else, maybe more so since they need to be so ridiculously consistent.
 
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