Since my 25th birthday visit with my friend Brian, I have been to the largest brewery in Colorado,
Coors Brewery in
Golden, Colorado, more times than I can count. I guess that's why
Pete Coors was waiting for me at the Blue Moon stand at the recent
Great American Beer Festival. A few years have passed since my last visit so I thought I'd drop in once again and say, "hello."
The tour section of the brewery has gotten a bit of a facelift since last I was there. In the past tour guides would take everyone around explaining the history of the brewerye since Prussian immigrant Adolph Coors started the Golden Brewery up in 1873 with a business partnership. It's all changed though with the introduction of technology.
Now little handheld devices explain the the brewing process with the push of a button. The history of the brewery is all still there too, but it's no where near as personable as it once was. Sure, there are guides available to answer questions at spots throughout the tour, but they look bored sitting there at their bar tables with chin in hand.
I'm sure few people stop to ask questions since the audio guide is quite thorough. Yet, it takes away the personable aspect of the tour. I appreciate that all of the points are covered with it, opposed to a guide forgetting a point or two, but it just wasn't as fun this time as in years past. Well, I suppose that's only true if you're actually interested in learning something.
I noticed many visitors not even listening to their guides and just walking the hallways to the end of the tour. They were there simply for the three free glasses of beer that are offered at the end. I certainly can't blame them since I enjoyed mine as well, but I was also happy to take in the new experience and learn a bit more about the brewery and how beer is made.
