(Belch!) 50 Years of Bud in Van Nuys

You pass by it while speeding down the 405 in the Valley -- that behemoth Budweiser plant. Budweiser? In Van Nuys?

As the Daily News reports, that plant -- which celebrates 50 years of operation this month -- remains a "cornerstone for the beer empire":

Today, 1,050 workers make 18 different brands, producing 12 million barrels each year on 11 lines. At full speed, the brewery can make 150 cans of beer every second.

"The brewing process has remained unchanged -- the yeast goes all the way back to 1876," said Gary Lee, who's managed the plant for the past 12 years. "The packaging, the materials, the systems, that's all changed. It's gotten more sophisticated, so we can process much more than we did 50 years ago."

LA Observed guru and Valley historian Kevin Roderick could probably tell you a lot more, but the Budweiser plant was also home to the Busch Gardens theme park and bird preserve from 1966 to 1979.

And yes, in case you were wondering, employees still get two free cases of beer a month.