Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour, St. Louis: Beer, History, and the Biggest Horses You've Ever Seen

Hi, I'm Ino.

On a boat tour of Chicago's architecture earlier in the trip, the guide had tossed out a joke that got a laugh from everyone on deck: "The Chicago River flows south toward St. Louis, and that's where all this water ends up — in your Budweiser." I laughed along with everyone else and didn't think much more about it. A few days later, standing inside the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, I found myself thinking about that joke differently. There's more truth in it than the guide probably intended.

In 1900, the city of Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River — a massive engineering project undertaken to push the city's sewage and industrial waste away from Lake Michigan, its source of drinking water. The new flow directed everything south, toward the Mississippi River system. The city downstream from that decision was St. Louis. Missouri took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and lost. The regional bitterness that followed has apparently never fully faded, and somewhere along the way it curdled into a joke about beer.

Two Budweiser Clydesdales at the St. Louis brewery — they have represented the brand since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.

A Brewery That Feels Like Its Own Town

The Anheuser-Busch brewery complex occupies over 100 acres in south St. Louis. Driving toward it, the scale doesn't register until you're actually there — dozens of 19th-century Romanesque brick buildings, multiple smokestacks rising above the roofline, and railway tracks running between the structures for internal transport. It is the kind of place that feels self-contained, as if it could have functioned as its own city in another era. In some ways, it did.

The brewery's origins go back to 1852, when a small operation called the Bavarian Brewery was established on the site. In 1860, a German-born soap manufacturer named Eberhard Anheuser bought the struggling business. Four years later, his son-in-law Adolphus Busch joined the operation — and the company that would become Anheuser-Busch began to take shape. In 1876, Busch and a business partner introduced a new lager they named Budweiser, after the Bohemian town of Budweis known for its brewing tradition. It became the company's flagship and eventually the best-selling beer in the world.

The original Brew House, built in 1891, and the historic stable built in 1885 were both designated National Historic Landmarks in 1967. The eagle emblem that appears on every can and bottle — the A&B eagle, wings spread above the company crest — has been the company's symbol since its founding and remains one of the most recognized brand marks in American commercial history.

The A&B eagle crest on the exterior — this emblem has appeared on every bottle and can since the company's founding in the 1860s.

Arriving at the Visitor Center

The visitor center entrance opens into a wide atrium — red brick walls, arched ironwork overhead, fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, and directly ahead a large sign reading "Welcome to the Home of Budweiser." Tour ticket windows line one side. A gift shop and bar occupy the other. The whole space has the feel of a well-managed attraction rather than an industrial facility, which it is, though the industrial facility is very much still operating around it.

Several tour options are available, ranging from a standard brewery tour to a Clydesdale VIP experience. Prices vary by tour type. The standard brewery tour runs roughly an hour and covers the major stops — the stable, the brew house, the aging cellars, and the packaging facility — finishing with beer samples in the hospitality room. Advance booking through the official website is strongly recommended, particularly for weekend visits when tours sell out early.

Good to know: Tours are available daily. The complex is at One Busch Place, St. Louis, MO 63118. Wear comfortable shoes — the grounds cover over 100 acres and you'll be walking between multiple buildings throughout the tour. Guests must be 21 or older to receive beer samples at the end.

The visitor center atrium — brick archways, fairy lights, and the tour ticket windows just ahead.

The Clydesdales: A Son's Gift, a Brand's Icon

The first stop on the tour is the Clydesdale paddock, and it is the stop that most people come specifically to see. The horses are kept in an outdoor pen adjacent to the 1885 stable, and seeing them in person immediately clarifies why they became one of the most recognized brand symbols in American advertising history. They are simply enormous — substantially larger than any horse most visitors will have encountered before, with thick legs covered in white feathering and a calm, unhurried presence that makes the surrounding brewery buildings seem almost modest by comparison.

The story behind the Clydesdales is one of the better origin stories in American brand history. On April 7, 1933 — the day Prohibition was officially repealed — August Busch Jr. wanted to surprise his father with a gift to mark the occasion. He told his father that his son had bought him a new car and asked him to come outside. Instead of a car, the elder Busch was greeted by a team of Clydesdale horses pulling a red, white, and gold beer wagon — the first case of post-Prohibition Budweiser loaded on board.

That same day, the horses carried the beer wagon through the streets of St. Louis. Recognizing the promotional potential immediately, Busch Sr. had the team sent by rail to New York, where they delivered cases of Budweiser to Al Smith, the former governor of New York who had been a prominent opponent of Prohibition, and eventually to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. The Clydesdales have been the face of Budweiser ever since — appearing in Super Bowl commercials starting in 1986, in the Rose Parade, and at events across the country throughout the year.

Each Clydesdale that represents Budweiser must meet specific requirements: at least six feet tall at the shoulder, bay coloring with four white stockings, a blaze of white on the face, and a black mane and tail. Each horse eats approximately 55 pounds of hay and drinks up to 30 gallons of water per day. Despite their size, they are consistently described as gentle and calm — a characteristic that becomes apparent when you're standing near them.

The Clydesdales up close — 55 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day, and still the calmest animals on the property.

The 1885 Stable: Nothing Like You'd Expect

The stable that houses the Clydesdales was built in 1885 and is one of two structures on the property designated as a National Historic Landmark. Walking in from the paddock, the interior is genuinely surprising — a circular room with stained-glass windows running the full circumference of the upper walls, a massive ornate chandelier hanging at the center, and two vintage red Budweiser beer wagons parked on the floor below.

The contrast with the industrial setting outside is difficult to overstate. This is not what a working stable looks like. The stained glass is in full color — rich reds, blues, greens, and yellows — and in the right light it transforms the room into something closer to a cathedral than a horse barn. The wagons on the floor below are the same style as the ones the Clydesdales pulled through the streets of St. Louis in 1933. Seeing them up close gives a sense of the pageantry that has always been part of this brand's identity.

Inside the 1885 stable — stained glass windows, an ornate chandelier, and the red beer wagons the Clydesdales have pulled since Prohibition's repeal.

The Brew House: Where the Beer Is Actually Made

The brewing tour moves through the production process in sequence — mashing, boiling, fermentation, aging, and packaging — with stops at the key points in each stage. The Brew House, built in 1891, contains the copper brewing equipment from 1938 that remains preserved on display alongside the current stainless steel kettles. The juxtaposition of the vintage copper vessels and the modern equipment makes the scale of what Anheuser-Busch has been doing for over a century unusually tangible.

One detail worth knowing: during Prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, Anheuser-Busch could not legally produce beer. Rather than close, the company pivoted to making yeast, ice cream, refrigerated truck bodies, a non-alcoholic malt drink called Bevo, and a near-beer version of Budweiser. This is a less celebrated chapter of the company's history, but it explains how Anheuser-Busch survived when most of the 20 other St. Louis breweries did not. Only eight of those twenty reopened after Prohibition ended. Anheuser-Busch was not just among them — it came out dominant.

The 1938 copper brew kettle, preserved in the Brew House alongside the current equipment — and the original Budweiser neon sign above it.

The current brew kettle — the label reads Brew Kettle #1, inside the same Brew House that has been operating since 1891.

The Scale of It

Walking between buildings during the tour, the full scale of the operation becomes clear in a way that statistics alone don't convey. The smokestacks are visible from multiple points around the city. Railway tracks run along the ground between structures — part of the internal logistics system that moves materials across the 100-acre complex. The Anheuser-Busch eagle logo, rendered in yellow on the side of one of the larger buildings, is large enough to read from several blocks away.

Anheuser-Busch produces more than 100 brands across its portfolio, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch, and through its parent company AB InBev, a substantial share of the global beer market. The St. Louis facility is the historic home of the operation — the symbolic center of a company whose products are sold in more than 50 countries. During the tour, the full range of the brand portfolio is displayed in a product showcase, which makes the reach of what started as a single small brewery in south St. Louis in the 1860s somewhat striking to take in at once.

The brewery complex from the grounds — smokestacks, railway tracks, and the A&B eagle on the wall of one of the larger production buildings.

The brand portfolio on display — what started as a single lager in 1876 now spans over 100 products in more than 50 countries.

The Freshest Budweiser You Will Ever Have

The tour ends in the on-site pub — a full bar and restaurant inside the visitor center, with the Budweiser sign lit up overhead and the brewery grounds visible through the windows. Tour guests receive a complimentary commemorative can to take home, and can order additional drinks at the bar. I ordered two drafts in the large plastic cups marked "Cheers," sat down at a table by the window, and thought about whether beer tastes different when you drink it inside the building where it was made.

I'm not sure it does, objectively. The beer in the cup was Budweiser — the same recipe, the same flavor it always has. But there is something about the context that changes the experience. The 1885 stable. The Clydesdales in the paddock. The 1938 copper kettle. The smokestacks outside. The history that started with a tennis player who bought a struggling brewery and his son-in-law who named a beer after a Bohemian town. Drinking the result of all of that inside the building where it happens, the beer tastes better than it has any rational right to.

I took the commemorative can back to the hotel and drank it later that evening. It also tasted fine.

Tip: Don't forget to collect your complimentary commemorative can before leaving — it's included with the tour and easy to overlook in the shuffle at the end. It makes a surprisingly good souvenir, and a better one if you drink it.

The on-site pub — Budweiser sign overhead, brewery visible through the windows, commemorative can waiting to be claimed.

Ino's Tips for the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour

Book in advance through the official website. Tours sell out regularly, especially on weekends and during summer. The official booking site is budweisertours.com. Multiple tour types are available, from the standard brewery tour to the Clydesdale VIP experience. Decide which you want before you arrive — walk-in availability is not guaranteed.

Wear comfortable walking shoes. The complex is over 100 acres and the tour moves between multiple buildings across the grounds. This is not a short stroll. If the weather is warm, dress accordingly — parts of the tour are outdoors.

Don't miss the Clydesdales, and spend time with them. The paddock visit is one of the first stops on the tour, and it's easy to move through quickly. Don't. These animals are unlike anything most visitors will have seen before, and the stable interior — stained glass, chandelier, vintage beer wagons — is one of the genuinely unexpected highlights of the entire experience.

Collect your commemorative can before leaving. It's included with the tour ticket and given out at the end. Easy to forget in the post-tour shuffle, but worth remembering. Take it home, put it in the fridge, and drink it that night.

Guests must be 21+ for beer samples. The complimentary beer tasting at the end of the tour is limited to guests 21 and older. If you're visiting with younger travelers, this is worth knowing in advance. The tour itself — the stable, the brew house, the Clydesdales — is worth doing regardless of the tasting.

The brewery is a short drive from the Gateway Arch, making it a natural second stop on a St. Louis day. If you're building a full St. Louis itinerary, the Arch in the morning, the brewery in the afternoon, and dinner at Bogart's Smokehouse — followed by a stop at Ted Drewes on the way back — covers everything St. Louis is genuinely famous for in a single day.

More Than a Beer Factory

I came expecting a factory tour. What I found was closer to a living museum — one that happens to still be making beer. The 1885 stable alone is worth the trip, and the Clydesdales are one of those things that photographs don't fully prepare you for. The history of the company, from a struggling German immigrant's purchase of a small Missouri brewery to the most widely distributed beer brand in the world, is the kind of story that a building this old and this intact can actually convey.

The Chicago guide's joke about the river water was funnier before I visited. Now it just feels like a footnote to a much bigger story — one that started in St. Louis in 1852 and is still very much ongoing.

Two drafts in Cheers cups at the end of the tour — context changes the taste of beer more than you'd expect.