One of the ways I have found to get out and about and not spend a lot of money is to find ways to do things for free that are right under my nose and within driving distance. And what is nice is that we can just do one tour a day and feel that we have done enough for the day and have learned something as well.
A few years ago my family and I went to the Denver Mint for their free tour of the history of coins to watching the process of coins being made from 15 feet above.
This last tour that I went on was to the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO and unlike the Denver mint, I got to check out the product up close and personal.
The Coors Brewery didn't require any reservation and they had a separate parking lot that they would bus you to and from the brewery. The drivers were extremely nice and positive. On the trip to the brewery we first got a quick tour of Golden, CO and it's history.
Once at the brewery, the smell of hops and barley is quite noticeable and will take a few minutes to get used to. And while you are taking in the can and bottle history of Coors you can get your over 18 bracelet for product testing.
With Golden, Colorado the home of the School of the Mines, they are used to college students meeting at the brewery for a few beers. They definitely come and go, while we were waiting for our tour about a half dozen people came in to just get their beer bracelet and head to the bar.
The brewery tour ran for about 30 minutes and took us through each stage from the hops and barley to drying process to the mixing kettles and the distribution, from the top of the factory to the bottom. Those kettles are HUGE by the way, pictures don't fully show the size.
The items I found most interesting to learn was about the origin of the beer as well as the the fact that they recycle a majority of their waste - which not only saves the company money but helps the environment.
After the tour was all over we descended the stairs into the brewery lunch/store area to sample beers. The funny part was that these samples weren't little 4 ounce cups but you were allowed 3 12 ounce beers to test out. That explains why the college students hangout at Coors - that is a generous amount of free beer!
Overall, I have to say that my experience was enjoyable and I certainly wouldn't mind going back with someone new.
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Thanks for this. We are thinking of heading there today and this was very helpful :)