St Louis, Missouri – Anheuser-Busch Beer Master Tour

After leaving the Gateway Arch it was on to the Beermaster Tour at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. The Anheuser-Busch Brewery Complex is made up of 137 structures and it takes up 142 acres of land. Most of the buildings were built before the turn of the century, mostly out of brick, in a Romanesque style. We visited the historic Brew House, the Primary Fermentation Cellar, Beechwood Aging Cellar, the Bevo Packaging Facility, and the Finishing Cellar, where we had samples directly from a Finishing Tank. Continue reading

St. Louis, Missouri – Gateway to the West

October 21st and 22nd we stayed at the Red Barn Rendezvous RV Park in Edwardsville, Illinois, just outside of St Louis, Missouri. We spent the day sightseeing in St Louis, at the Gateway Arch and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. The Gateway Arch is a world-renowned masterpiece of modern architecture built on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown St Louis. It was created in 1935 by Eero Saarinen, to memorialize the role of St Louis in the westward expansion of the United States. The structure of the Gateway Arch, built between 1963 and 1965, is a sandwich made of stainless steel on the outside, carbon steel on the inside, and concrete in the middle. The highlight of the visit was the ride to the top of the 630 foot arch. We rode in a unique capsule-transporter system, consisting of barrel-shaped capsules joined together to form a train-like vehicle that runs on tracks inside the hollow legs of the Arch. Each capsule holds 5 passengers and maintains a level position throughout the 4 minute ride to the top. Continue reading