Hi there, Making my first trip to Amsterdam and Belgium in a week and am looking for some recommendations on breweries and good beer bars. Can someone please direct me to a good Beeradvocate Amsterdam and Belgium forum/threads that you would recommend I use for research? Thanks, mpak
My usuals when in Amsterdam are Beer Temple, Arendsnest Proeflokaal, and In de Wildeman. Also - for Brussels, the obvious answer is Delirium Cafe, just make sure you check out each floor - the top has a pretty interesting variety of harder to find beers.
Craft & Draft is a new bar in Amsterdam that's worth a visit. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of In de Wildeman but 't Arendsnest and de Beer Temple are great.
Het Elfde Gebod, Arendsnest and Brouwerij't Ij in Amsterdam. Delirium Café, Monk, Cantillon (obviously) and Poechenellekelder in Bressels.
In addition to what was already listed, check out Cafe Gollum in Amsterdam. There are a few of them, all cool, but the original near Dam square is the best IMO. In Brussels, Moeder Lambic is a must. One of the best beers lists I've ever seen. Common to see Cantillon on tap/cask there. Enjoy!
I used to dig the Wildeman but I find it getting too pricey lately. Go with Arendsnest or 't Ij. If you get to Antwerp, there's a Gollem there which is top-shelf. Prosit!
Agree 100% with the above statements re: Brussels. I just recently got back from a trip with my wife, and we had a wonderful afternoon at Beer Mania in Brussels as well - solid bottle selection, and a small bar in the back in which they were happy to throw bottles we selected from the shelves into the cooler for on site consumption. We had the place to ourselves for the afternoon we were there - it was great! Also need to get this plug in: not sure what types of beer you'll be hunting for while out there, but basically all the beers I had from De Struise were absolutely fantastic. Wishing I could find a source for their beer here in Nebraska. Also, while in Amsterdam, if you don't mind taking the train about an hour outside of the city to Bodegraven, we had a fantastic afternoon at the Brouwerij de Molen tasting room - great food, friendly service, and solid beer! They had just finished hosting a festival the weekend before, so half the beers they were serving were from attending breweries on the west coast, but we still had a great time. Have you locked in a place to stay yet? we used Airbnb to rent a private room in a couple's house boat 2 blocks from Brouwerij't Ij in Amsterdam, and it was a great/unique experience. Shoot me a PM and I'm happy to provide any more information you need. Have fun!
A 20-tap pub just opened last weekend in Amsterdam: Taproom Nieuwe Vijzelstraat 1, 1017 HT Amsterdam. email: [email protected] Tel: 020 221 23 43 http://www.taproom.nl Mostly local-ish stuff.
De Molen is closed untill the end of the year. If you're making the trip to Rotterdam, Kaapse brouwers is a great place to visit, always nice taps, and located in a nice building with lots of food to try (untill 19:00).
De Engelbewaarder is a bit under the radar in Amsterdam but worth the stop for Boon unfiltered Oude Lambiek. On sours, Moeder Lambic is the spot in Brussels - love those pouring baskets!
