We started the day off with a visit to Gudrun chocolate factory. We had a lecture from their CFO in the beginning and then an hour long tour. So. So. Awesome!
The chocolates that we were greeted to during the lecture. The dark chocolate filled with milk chocolate was my favorite. Also we each had a bottle of water. Hard to come by in Europe! It's the little things.
During our tour we had to wear coats, gloves, hair nets and the guys had to wear masks for beards. Also, photos were strictly not allowed. The tour was absolutely phenomenal. We got to try every chocolate off the lines we visited. The total came out to 27. It was important to pick and choose which ones you would taste, the people that ate them all weren't feeling too hot by the end of the tour. But the tour was one of the best things we've done on this trip. It really was amazing.
The tour guide was great! The hair nets were not.
Free boxes of chocolates. We'll see how they turn out after a plane ride! They did not have a place to buy the chocolates there but I do need to find a store that sells their dark chocolate flaked truffles with cacao powder. One of the best things I've ever tasted. They are number one in the world for those truffles.
After the tour we had a break for lunch. Unfortunately we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere so our choices weren't very impressive. Most of us ended up eating at Quick Burger which is their equivalent of McDonalds.
Quick Burger < McDonalds
Also you have to pay for ketchup...
Wasting time
The free balloons were a hit with the guys.
Next up Stella.
Oh boy. Once again we started off with a lecture from the CFO of the Belgian area. Stella is owned by ABInbev. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions Inbev was founded. They then bought Anheuser Busch and thus, ABInbev. They own 210 beers and have essentially cornered the market. Enough that they can only partially own Corona due to anti-trust laws. They are a modern monopoly and their story is incredible, especially to hear from one of their CFOs. Their three global brands are Corona, Budweiser and Stella. They were chosen based on their ability to target their three categories of demographics, events, price and premium quality. They're currently feeling the hit from United States micro brewers and combating that by buying them as quickly as they can.
Watch out West 6th.
Their bar.
Waiting to start the tour.
This room was over 100 degrees...
Filter. This room was a chilly 80 degrees.
Enjoying the "confrontation with the product" after the tour.
It was determined that our group went through two kegs. There are 216 beers in one keg and 32 people on the trip.
Take that as you will.
Dinner at the end of the day was the cherry on top. We ate in a small village on their patio. Surprise, tomato soup! We also had their house beer, three different meats, scalloped potatoes, greens and dame blanche this time with fresh fruit.
The dog was a hit.
With twenty minutes again to waste before a bus ride back we got to explore the grounds a little bit.
Such. A. Great. Day.
Emily
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