Yesterday a few friends of mine got together and headed down to the St. Louis world headquarters (at the moment, anyway) of Anheuser-Busch for a tour of the brewing facilities.  I took along my camera and snapped a bunch of photos for my out-of-town friends and family (and you, the random visitor who probably entered my site via a Google Search).

A lot of people rag on Budweiser and Bud Light for being, for lack of a better term, “swill.”  I’ll admit that I was one of those people, but that was before enjoing delicous same-day Budweiser in the hospitality room at the end of the tour.  When I asked our tour guide what made it so damn tasty, he replied - “it’s the water.”

It’s a fact that St. Louis has the best water in the country (kiss it, New York!), so it only makes sense that Anheuser-Busch’s overall quality is directly tied to the fluids that quench the gateway city’s thirst.

As an aside, I thought that it was interesting that the tour guide kept bringing up Anheuser-Busch’s sustainability efforts.  I was unaware that Anheuser-Busch recycles 5 cans for every 4 they produce and that by using alternative energy sources, they are able to power roughly 10% of U.S. production.  It’s a far cry from the sustainability efforts of New Belgium Brewing, but it’s a great start.

You can view 47 photos of the St. Louis brewery as a Flickr photoset here.  Enjoy!