The Netherlands can often be overlooked as a great beer-producing nation, with serious aficionados instead looking towards its neighbours, Belgium and Germany, for their fix of hoppy goodness. It doesn’t help that the brewing giants of Heineken and Amstel cast a long shadow over Amsterdam, with most of the brown cafes and tourist-filled drinking spots in the city centre serving up these rather bland lagers with a heavy head of foam rather than craft beer.
However, hidden among the network of waterways and the rabbit warren of higgledy-piggledy streets is a burgeoning craft beer scene. There are new, cool and contemporary micro-breweries cropping up all the time, everywhere from canal-side hangouts to minimalist industrial spaces. With that in mind, on my recent trip to Amsterdam, I decided to buckle down and do some hard ‘research’ into the city’s best breweries and craft beer bars.
The Best Breweries & Tap Rooms in Amsterdam
Brouwerij ‘t IJ
Brouwerij ‘t IJ is hard to miss: it sits in the shadow of Amsterdam’s iconic De Gooyer windmill in a former municipal bath house with a large, bustling terrace where beer lovers sit and sup their brews in the sun. Opened in 1985 and named after the eponymous waterway, the IJ Brewery was a trailblazer in the Netherland’s microbrewing scene and has gone on to become one of the city’s most beloved brewers. The cosy taproom is only open from 2 – 8 pm but it is a lovely setting to sample any of their 7 standard beers including an IPA; Zatte, a Belgian blonde; IJwit, a full-bodied wheat beer; and Struis, a rather strong stout. I recommended buying a beer flight – the barman will line them up from lowest abv to strongest (the Colombus comes in at an eye-watering 9%) – and sampling them all.
Where: Zeeburgerpad 55
Opening Times: Daily 2pm – 8pm.
Brouwerij De Prael
Amsterdam’s Red Light District isn’t all stag parties and neon-drenched sleaze, hidden away in one of the oldest parts of the city is De Prael Brewery’s wonderful tasting room and restaurant. I only found it after I stumbled across their bottle shop on Oudezijds Voorburgwal and had the foresight to ask if they had a bar. I’m glad that I did. The brewery first opened its doors in 2002 and has gone on to become one of the city’s most popular, offering 11 different brews as standard (with the occasional special edition seasonal beer) from the ever-popular Bitterblonde and I.P.A to the more out there 11.5% Quadrupel. While the beer is very good, the real star is the cosy and welcoming taproom with its tiled bar, retro lighting and cool, vintage furniture.
If you fancy getting out of the city centre and visiting the main brewery, their huge site in Houthavens has a wonderful, modern brewery tap with plenty of comfortable outdoor seating.
Where: Oudezijds Armsteeg 26 & Nieuwe Hemweg 2
Butcher’s Tears
Butcher’s Tears is one of the newest, and hippest, additions to Amsterdam’s microbrewing scene but has quickly become a firm favourite with the city’s residents. It’s secluded location on an edgy industrial estate in the Zuid neighbourhood only adds to the appeal, with everyone from hipsters to pensioners stopping by to sip a beer in the minimalist yet stylish tap room. Like Oedipus, these guys like to brew on the experimental side. Although you can guarantee that they will have a standard IPA or Stout on tap, they also like to brew concoctions such as So What – a salt and vinegar ale – and Philomela – a farmhouse liquorice stout.
Where: Karperweg 45
Opening Times: Weds & Thurs 4pm – 9pm; Fri & Sat 4pm – 11pm; Sun 2pm – 7pm; Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Oedipus
Oedipus’ beer can be found all over Amsterdam, but to visit their cool and funky brewery and tap room you will have to go a little out of your way, heading across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord. Started by four friends who like their beer to be more on the experimental side, Oedipus has won over legions of craft beer fans thanks to serving to strange creations such as Thai Thai (a sweet, spicy beer tripel brewed using Thai ingredients) and Mannenliefde (a lemongrass and Szechuan pepper Saison).
Where: Karperweg 45
Opening Times: Weds & Thurs 4pm – 9pm; Fri & Sat 4pm – 11pm; Sun 2pm – 7pm; Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Bierfabriek
Bierfabriek, literally meaning Beer Factory, is a huge, warehouse-style space just minutes walk from Oudezijds Voorburgwal with a set of gleaming, copper brewing tanks acting as its centrepiece. In terms of a brewery, Bierfabriek is fairly small scale with only two beers brewed onsite; ROSSO (a red ale) and NERO (a dark porter). They also serve PUUR, an unfiltered pilsner specifically brewed by them by small Dutch brewery, Alfa. However, what they lack in choice, they make up for with both the venue itself and atmosphere. They offer tap tables, meaning that you can pour yourself a beer without having to head to the bar, and a small yet perfectly formed bar menu consisting of typical Dutch pub snacks like sausage or bitterballen and their famous slow-roasted chicken.
Where: Nes 67
Opening Times: Mon to Thurs 3pm – 1am; Fri 3pm – 2am; Sat 1pm – 2am; Sun 1pm – 1am.
Walhalla
Set up by Aart van Bergen, a local homebrewer that has since made his passion into a business, Walhalla is one of the newest breweries to pop up in Amsterdam’s prolific beer scene. Drawing inspiration from all manner of ancient religions and mythologies, they have such divine offerings as Loki, a stunning golden IPA, and Osiris, a Belgian Saison. Their brewery taproom, a cosy little spot hidden away in the eastern side of Noord, is open Friday to Sunday.
Where: Spijkerkade 10, Amsterdam Noord
Opening Times: Fri 4pm – 11pm; Sat 2pm – 11pm; Sun 2pm – 8pm.
Brouwerij Troost
The vibrant De Pijp neighbourhood is a pretty cool place to wander around. Brimming with kitsch shops, awesome brunch spots (I’m looking at you Bakers & Roasters and Coffee & Coconuts) and oozing beatnik charm, its only fitting that it has a good craft beer bar to satisfy the hipster locals. Enter Brouwerij Troost; a former monastery turned brewery and taproom on Cornelis Troostplein. They’ve now opened 3 more brewpubs in Westergas, Oost and Oud West but the De Pijp location is the original.
Where: Cornelis Troostplein 21
Opening Times: Mon to Thurs 4pm – 12am; Fri 4pm – 3am; Sat & Sun 2pm – 3am.
Bruut Beer
The Bruut brewery café isn’t the easiest to find. Hidden away in the Insulinde Huisje on the Cruquius Island, it took me a 15-minute tram ride and another 15 minutes of walking to reach but it was certainly worth the effort. The building in which the brewery is housed has an interesting history in its own right; Huisje Insulinde, served as the headquarters for the Insulinde Oil Company since 1913 and was left in a dilapidated state until the owners of Bruut refurbished it to its former glory, forming an impressive backdrop for their nano-brewery brewery & bar.
Sander and Ward try to distinguish themselves from Amsterdam’s other breweries by creating relatively dry blondes that are simultaneously traditional, yet enriched with new tastes and trends of modern brewing. In addition to this, they try to brew in a sustainable way. Each beer is brewed without additives and with organically grown grains that are sourced from local farmers. There are also plans to go completely carbon neutral, with the brewery producing all of its own energy.
Where: Cruquiusweg 83 D
Opening Times: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 3pm – 12am; Fri 3pm – 1am; Sat 2pm – 1am; Sun 2pm – 12am
The Best Craft Beer Bars & Pubs in Amsterdam
Proeflokaal Arendsnest
Walking down the beautiful, grand Herengracht canal you could be forgiven for walking straight past Proeflokaal Arendsnest, mistaking it for any other of the city’s brown cafés, or bruine kroeg. However, This place is a little different. Yes, it has the mahogany walls and waistcoat clad bartenders that are associated with these ‘gezellig’ drinking spots but in Proeflokaal Arendsnest, or ‘tasting room’, you’ll find over 50 Dutch beers on tap with the knowledgeable staff willing to talk you through each and every one of them.
Where: Herengracht 90.
Opening Times: Sunday to Thurs 12pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 12pm – 2am.
The Bar by Gebrouwen door Vrouwen
Gebrouwen door Vrouwen (Brewed by Women) began as a hobby for two beer-loving Amsterdam sisters, Tessel and Do. They started brewing beer in 2013, at home in their kitchen armed with just a 35-litre pan. Since then, the brewery has expanded significantly to the point that they have opened a brewery near Westerpark where they constantly produce some of the most interesting beers that the city has to offer; Their Gin Weizen is a pale, wheat beer brewed with gin spices and their Ginger Gold is a light pale ale with a spicy ginger twist. Even their core blonde beers come brewed with either elderflower or a hint of strawberry.
Although the brewery doesn’t yet have an on-site taproom, all of their brews can be found at their new, intimate bar on Jan Pieter Heijestraat in Amsterdam Oud-West. There are 12 taps on offer and a lovely sun terrace outside.
Where: Jan Pieter Heijestraat 119D.
Opening Times: Mon to Thurs 3pm – 1am; Fri & Sat 12pm – 3am; Sun 12pm – 1am.
In de Wildeman
The building in which In De Wildeman is located has a long history with booze. It housed a distillery from as far back as 1690 and even today it manages to retain much of its old-world charm; It’s dark, dingy and wood-panelled. In other words, the perfect drinking spot. Its location close to the city centre means the clientele is a good mix of locals and tourists, all crowding into this cosy bar to sample some of the 200 bottles or 20 taps on offer. While the focus is on local Dutch brews and Belgian beers, they have a good selection of international ales too.
Where: Kolksteeg 3
Opening Times: Mon to Thurs 12pm – 1am; Fri & Sat 12pm – 2am; Closed Sundays.
One Response
I went to 3 out of your selection when I visited Amsterdam earlier in the year – although I unfortunately don’t like beer, but my other half does and I love trying to find him amazing places like these. Good to know there are still some more to try if we go back!