Amsterdam Early May

On your train ride to Bodgraven (De Molen) get off in Utrecht (you will change trains here) & walk two blocks to Café Oliver. Although the tavern is not a beer haven, the beautiful interior of this place makes it worth a visit. The building is a former church & they have kept things pretty much the same, (added a very nice bar of course). Trains run every half hr to Bodgraven, so you can take an hr or two & still get plenty of quality time at De Molen. Save your appetite for lunch at De Molen, the food is great & bring a backpack or strong bag for all the carry out beer from their shop!

Have a nice trip, A-dam is full of great beer spots!

 

Oedipus is a little out of the way, but nice enough. Ive never been to Butchers Tears. Amsterdam is full of great bars, so I don't really see much need to visit bars in Utrecht, but I guess if you need to see it all, why not.

My favorite Amsterdam bar is In de Wildeman by the way, no music, nice interior, good mix of locals and tourists, and great beer.

 

Although I agree w/ Maakun that Amsterdam has several great beer bars, (de Wildeman, Arendsnest, etc) I doubt you will visit a bar that is more aesthetically pleasing than Café Oliver in Utrecht, but I guess architectural appeal isn't everyone's cup of tea.
Anyway, I say again, have a great trip. The beer in NL is great everywhere you go!

 

For sour beers go to In de Wildeman and ask for their lambic/vintage list with the beers that are not on the regular menu. Bierkoning is a shop with a nice selection and they often have some good 3F, Cantillon and Dutch lambics/sours.

 

Prices in Amsterdam tend to be on the high side.

 

Go to Arendsnest. All Dutch beers. A great introduction to the scene in the Netherlands. Butcher's Tears has a wonderfully bizarre location. And a cool taproom.

Then there's this place that has Franconian beer and small-batch jenever:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.nl/2016/02/another-new-amsterdam-pub.html

 

Here is probably a dumb question: Any Cantillon or 3F or De Molen beers for sale in shops in the Amsterdam airport? I will be laying over there for a few hours later in May.

 

No, but if you have a few hours you can take a train to Amsterdam and go to De Bierkoning, it will probably take about an hour and a half total.

 

Taking the train to Schipol for a short layover can be tricky if you don't have a boatload of time.

A) Factor in the boarding time at the gate for your outbound flight.

B) Schipol is a big airport. Know the approx distance between your gate and the train entrance (fortunately located at Schipol)

C) Travel time between Schipol and the Centraal Station in Amsterdam is about 15 minutes. Figure in about 10 minutes wait time for the train at each station and a couple of minutes at the ticket office.

D) Avoid the taxis at Centraal. Traffic is a little messy and the drivers often take the slow, less direct route. De Bierkoning is very walkable, but remember you'll probably be returning with a few beers. The trams are next to Centraal and run directly to Bierkoning. Get your tickets at the tram office just outside of Centraal. About a 6-8 minute ride down Damrak, close to the Royal Palace in Dam Square.

Like Maakun said, three hours is a decent amount of time for a Schipol/Bierkoning run. Just don't be tempted to make a side trip to one of the coffee shops on the way. GL!

FYI, local friends tell me De Bierkoning will occasionally have Cantillon. I've only seen it once.

 

Now it looks like I'll have a day and a half in Amsterdam. Thinking of taking a train to Cantillon and back (less than 2 hours each way). Good idea?

 

It's always a good idea to go to Cantillon!