22 May - Coors Brewery Tour and Housekeeping Chores

22 May
Very productive day.  The Outdoor Recreation office was open today so I stopped by there to pay for our campsite.  While I was there I took the opportunity to provide some constructive feedback to the supervisor who oversees the FamCamp and the Camp Host.  He seemed appreciative that I would take the time to do so.  I then headed to the base car wash to blast the mud off the truck, especially the tires, from the RV parking adventures.  While I was gone Doreen took care of the e-finances and cleaned up in the RV.

Later we headed to Golden CO and did the Coors Brewery tour.  Back in the day you could not get Coors in Iowa and also you could not get Olympia beer in Iowa, so not unlike Yuengling beer, someone has to "make a run" to get it.  It was quite a treat to have a Coors back then.  Kind of a novelty.

So back to the tour, the line was long and we waited about an hour to get on the bus.  The bus takes you on a short ride from the parking area through downtown Golden to the tour entrance.  Once you enter the building the tour is self-guided and uses an audio device attached to a lanyard.  You select the appropriate number and you hear the recorded information. Here are some photos:

Souvenir photo

The entrance to the tour starts with the history of Coors

 

In 1873, German immigrants Adolph Coors and Jacob Schueler from Prussia emigrated and established a brewery in Golden, Colorado, after buying a recipe for a Pilsner-style beer from a Czech immigrant William Silhan. Coors invested $2,000 in the operation, and Schueler invested $18,000.

The brands of Coors.  I did not know some of these brands were associated with Coors 

and that Miller is also involved as a majority.  The whole ownership thing on various brands of beers is really complicated, apparently.
 

Entrance to the brew house

The brewing room and all the two story tall copper brewing kettles.

The control center that oversees the brewing process.  On the average it takes about 55 days to brew a Coors beer.

So what does it mean when I say I recognize most of these Coors bottles and cans?!

The packaging process.  Today they were running 12-pack and case packages at the rate of 1100-1800 cans per minute.  Amazing!

Ah, and then finally the taste testing room!  Since Doreen does not like beer,
I did her tasting for her and she had a root beer!

My favorite, only available locally and brand new, so we will go on a hunt for Colorado Native Saison
at the base Class 6 store and local beverage stores.

The lounge.  Doreen up to the bar getting her root beer.

 

Nice patriotic display just outside the building.

Was a nice tour!

 On the way back to the Famcamp we stopped at Camping World to pick up an item and then stopped by the local Chrysler Dodge RAM dealer as I needed a bit of antifreeze.  My low coolant light momentarily blinks when I first start the vehicle in the morning.  It was just slightly low and of course the antifreeze comes in gallon containers, so I have about 90% of a gallon left..!

Tomorrow we will visit Orlen and Carolyn Wolf and have dinner with them.  We may also squeeze in the Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.