re: Let's Talk A Little Amsterdam!..

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What's your favorite breweries and beer spots?

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For Breweries, there are a few but most are average beer.

The best brewery, really a brew pub is Butcher's Tears. Its a good 15-20 minute bike ride outside the canal zone and its in an industrial area way down a long driveway through a warehouse zone. Once you're there its a good, scrappy atmosphere.

The best atmosphere is Brouwerij 't IJ. It sits under a big windmill with a bunch of outdoor seating. It can get really crowded and the beer is just ok.

Brouwerij Troost makes better beer than 't IJ and they have 2 locations. I probably like the location in Westergas the best even though its a new place and somewhat generic. It seems to have more energy to it than the original location in the Pijp.

Two chefs brewing is ok beer and ok atmosphere. There are several other breweries in the same category....just ok.

Beer Spots:

I general prefer going to a place I can try a variety of beers from different breweries.

My favorite place is Proeflokaal Arendsnest. They serve only dutch beers and they are on the Herengracht canal with seating outside. Top tip, just around the corner on Leilagracht is a great take away pizza place called De Pizzabakers. You can sit on the canal in front with your legs dangling over the edge and eat or if its not crowded at Proeflokaal Arendsnest, ask the waiter if you can eat the pizza at a table outside while drinking. I always offer the waiter a slice.

Top Tip, street names that end with "gracht" are canals. Although there are a few canal streets where the canal has been filled in. These will usually have parking and some green space down the middle of the street where the canal used to be. There is also underground trash/recycling dumpsters where everyone has to take their trash. There is no trash pickup in the canal zone.

My other place I love is actually an old Brown Bar called Cafe Spuyt. Its at the edge of the tourist area but is such a grungy looking place the tourists just walk by. They almost always have Cantillion and Westvleteren 12. My wife and I can kill 2 or 3 hours their sipping on those great beers.

Wildeman is the most well known place for Cantillion and other lambics. Its in the Dam area and so very crowded.

Cafe Gollem has 3 locations, used have a 4th out on Overtoom that I loved but they shut that one. They have a huge selection of belgians and other stuff. The Raamsteeg location in the Centrum is a cool old brown bar and the Pijp location is nice too.

Beer Temple is a place a lot of people recommend but they specialize in american beers and are very, very expensive.

De Bierkoning is a bottle shop that has most anything you would want to buy and take back to your hotel/airbnb or to ship back home. I always ship back some cantillion and Westy 12. Last time I was in there a couple of years ago the had a few Parish Envie bottles too.

A great spot to have a beer or 4, even though they don't have a great selection, is the Blue Teahouse in Vondel Park. Its a space age flying saucer art deco looking building in the middle of the park with lots of outdoor seating at ground level, and on the 2nd floor terrace.