By Matthew Jensen-Skinner
Daily Republic
Chung Liew, left, and his father, Siew Liew, right, both of Santa Clara, listen to tour guide Jeff McCall talk about the Budweiser aging process in the beechwood cellars during a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield. The room is kept at a temperature of 47 degrees Fahrenheit and each tank is capable of making a half-million 12 oz. servings of beer. (Photo by Brad Zweerink)
FAIRFIELD - The Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield offers free, all-ages tours of its 700,000-square-foot facility. The tour provides guests with information on the brewery and the beer-making process, and free beer tasting for those 21 years old and over.
In the tasting room, guests are given a choice between two 10-ounce beers - chosen from four beers on tap plus a variety of bottled brews - or one 10-ounce drink and a "flight," a sampler mix of five 2-ounce beers. Pretzels and fountain sodas are offered as well.
The flight includes Budweiser, Bud Light, Budweiser Select, Michelob AmberBock and Bare Knuckle Stout.
The tour also treats guests to a video about the processes of the brewery and then are led to the bottling line where the brewery's nearly 136 million gallons of beer per year are bottled.
After the bottling line, the tour moves to the "beechwood cellars," where containers holding 56,800 gallons of beer are kept at 47 degrees Fahrenheit and the beer completes its beechwood aging.
The brewery's gift shop, where guests can purchase Anheuser-Busch merchandise, closes one hour after the last tour.
The tours are offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday from June to August, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday from September through May. The tours last between 45 minutes to one hour and are offered every hour on the hour. Tours are offered based on availability and are not given on select holidays.
The brewery is located at 3101 Busch Drive, Fairfield. For more information, to verify tours or times, call 429-7595 or visit www.budweisertours.com.
