Touring The Anheuser-Busch Brewery

[Metro Jacksonville]

Touring The Anheuser-Busch Brewery



Anheuser-Busch's Jacksonville brewery produces more than 125 million cases of beer each year, serving Florida, Southern Georgia and Southern Alabama markets.  The Jacksonville site was selected in August of 1967.  Two Clydesdales pulled a plow to break ground for construction in December of 1967.

Construction took almost two years and the first brew was finished and shipped in September of 1969.  At that time, the plant brewing capacity was 1.7 million barrels per year.

Since Jacksonville's brewery establishment, there have been several expansions and bottling lines installed, increasing brewing capacity to well over 9 million barrels a year.  In addition, Busch operates a 400-acre farm just north of the 600-employee brewery.  There, brewery wastewater is fed into massive center pivot irrigation systems that water and fertilize the soil during growing season, producing corn, sorghum and rye grasses.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-jun-touring-the-anheuser-busch-brewery

[duvaldude08]

Wow. I havent been inside that place in atleast 15 years. My mom used to work for a janitorial service that cleaned up out there. We were always invited to thier christmas party every year. I have always wondered why Maxwell House does not have something similar. Would be a great Tourist draw for downtown.

[Dapperdan]

I actually sent Maxwell House an email telling them I think it would be benefiical to open their plant for tours and a museum and to open a outward facing coffee shop on Bay St in that huge blank wall they currently have, but they emailed me back and said they were not interested. I also still think they should have their name on the baseball park across the street and call it The Maxwell House Grounds.

[KenFSU]

I also still think they should have their name on the baseball park across the street and call it The Maxwell House Grounds.

That's actually quite clever.

I like it!

[Cliffs_Daughter]

I've visited the brewery several times, and I NEVER knew that they have a dedicated glass bottle manufacturer here!

[ProjectMaximus]

I actually sent Maxwell House an email telling them I think it would be benefiical to open their plant for tours and a museum and to open a outward facing coffee shop on Bay St in that huge blank wall they currently have, but they emailed me back and said they were not interested. I also still think they should have their name on the baseball park across the street and call it The Maxwell House Grounds.

That's a shame. I wonder if it would be worth it to get a bunch of people to call or email them. They might respond to a grassroots campaign, or it might not even be worth the hassle...

[wsansewjs]

I actually sent Maxwell House an email telling them I think it would be benefiical to open their plant for tours and a museum and to open a outward facing coffee shop on Bay St in that huge blank wall they currently have, but they emailed me back and said they were not interested. I also still think they should have their name on the baseball park across the street and call it The Maxwell House Grounds.

That's a shame. I wonder if it would be worth it to get a bunch of people to call or email them. They might respond to a grassroots campaign, or it might not even be worth the hassle...

Blame on the Kraft Foods Corporation and their greedy and cold personality.

-Josh

[blizz01]

Nah - Big Tobacco (Philip Morris).

[Dog Walker]

They use everything but the squeal at that plant.  Not only do they use the water extracted from the plant for irrigation, but before the water leaves the plant, it and the waste at the bottom of the fermenting vats and the wash out water from the pipes and the floor washing water is all heated and the alcohol is distilled from it for industrial ethanol.  I think someone told me that they ship out a tanker truck of pure alcohol from there every week.

The fermented grains are dried and used in cattle feed.  I think that they have a zero waste facility.

[Kickbackssteve]

@duvaldude and dapperdan,  its my understanding that Maxwell House doesn't do tours because of some danger inherent in the roasting process. I don't recall the details but I remember being blown away by them. Something along the lines of some incredible heat caused by the roasting vessels and the cooling of them. I think they are so hot that if the power was to go out the place would catch on fire and the precaution they would take if that was to happen would be to flood the whole building or at least the roasting area.

[danem]

Parts of a brewery like this were used as Enterprise interior sets in the 2009 Star Trek film.