European Vacation - brewery tours in Holland/Germany?

[Psych]

My wife and I are going to spend 10 days in Holland in late May, and then 10 days in Germany right after, and we're super stoked!

Now we're just looking at how to fill some dead space in Amsterdam (we have 3 days with few plans after a 7 day bicycle tour), and will then have 2 days in Munich right after that before a 7 day rail tour.

I was of course thinking "Gotta visit the Heineken Experience" but looking at it a bit more I don't think it looks very interesting...I want to see breweries in action, not "design a bottle for an exorbitant fee".

So is there anywhere in Amsterdam or area that can recommend a good brewery or pubs to visit?

And for Munich the same, we're thinking about a walking brewery tour there already (walking to a few breweries) but if there's some hidden gems, I'd love to know about them!

Super excited to get away for 3 weeks for this, my wife's family is from Holland and my mom's from Germany.

 

[osagedr]

And for Munich the same, we're thinking about a walking brewery tour there already (walking to a few breweries) but if there's some hidden gems, I'd love to know about them!

You could take the S1 train up to Freising and do a tour of Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery. Half hour on the train each way but worth it IMO. May as well tour the church in town while you're there.

 

[joef9800]

Be sure to hit up the Augustiner braustuben, only a 10 minute walk from the train station in Munich. And do try the crispy pork knuckle while you're in there

 

[Duckbrew]

JoeF9800 First post and you're talking about "crispy pork knuckles?" Nice..

 

[Psych]

I think these both are doable! I'd read about the Weihenstephan brewery before but had forgotten about it since, this would be a great thing to do and it may be along our route out of Munich anyhow!

Our hotel in Munich is like right near the main train station, so we'll put Augustiner braustuben on the list I really am looking forward to sampling true German food (beyond what I ate as a child )

 

[jr82]

I'm heading to Munich in sept so interested to hear suggestions as well. Research so far had indicated Augustiner as a good bet.

 

[Wingy]

If you're in Amsterdam for a few days definitely visit brouwerij 't ij - it's not really a brewery that you can tour, but it's a fun stop where you can get some great Dutch beer and sit by the river in a less touristy and friendlier part of town. It gets bonus points for being in a windmill.

 

[Psych]

If you're in Amsterdam for a few days definitely visit brouwerij t'ij - it's not really a brewery that you can tour, but it's a fun stop where you can get some great Dutch beer and sit by the river in a less touristy and friendlier part of town. It gets bonus points for being in a windmill.

Ooo this is good stuff! Will put this on the list to check out, thanks Wingy!

 

[AllHopAbandon]

Café 't Arendsnest is a pub that serves Dutch beers only. 500+ beers from 50 Dutch breweries, 30 taps, should be interesting to visit. Another option is The Beer Temple, that one specializes in beers from the US. A common reaction from Americans (edit: or Canadians ) visiting the Beer Temple is "Wow, you have <insert beer here>?! I can't even get that back home!" Might be worth a visit. Both pubs are in Amsterdam.

May 10th until May 20th is The Week of Dutch Beer, with all kinds of activities all over the country.

Have a good trip!

 

[dinnerstick]

in addition to the above, if you are in holland then, saturday 19th may is the utrecht beer festival. the gabf it isn't, but it should be a good time. i'll be the smiling drunk one so say hi if you make it.
brouwerij de molen is makes very interesting beers and does tours, tastings, food etc:
http://www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/
la trappe is the only trappist brewery not in belgium, don't know if they do tours.

 

[bueschen]

Hi Psych,
If you are in Munich on the second or fourth Friday you could go here. Gunther has "Schaubrauen" (show-brewing) on these days and you can go hang out and watch a former Augustiner Brewmaster do his stuff on a 60 litre setup. He puts out a small spread of snacks and usually has a few different beers to sample. He's not allowed to charge for beer so he just keeps a tip box out to help the cause.

Maybe not as exciting as the better known breweries but it gives you an interesting afternoon/evening that normal tourist never see.
Cheers,
Tim

 

[Psych]

Drat, May 19th we're heading Zandvoort way, I think, bet that'd be neat to see though! We're passing through Utrecht sometime later the next week. We'll see the aftermath

I'm surprised (not sure why, I suppose) to see two posters here from Utretch, and one from Munich! I love how geographically widespread this forum can feel sometimes.

Thanks for the tips!

Incidentally, how's the weather around late May / early June in Holland and southern Germany? We'll be outside for most of our Netherlands adventures and sort of limited on how many clothing options we can have for this leg of the trip.

 

[Psych]

Hi Psych,
If you are in Munich on the second or fourth Friday you could go here. Gunther has "Schaubrauen" (show-brewing) on these days and you can go hang out and watch a former Augustiner Brewmaster do his stuff on a 60 litre setup. He puts out a small spread of snacks and usually has a few different beers to sample. He's not allowed to charge for beer so he just keeps a tip box out to help the cause.

Maybe not as exciting as the better known breweries but it gives you an interesting afternoon/evening that normal tourist never see.
Cheers,
Tim

That's so cool...something we'd probably never have stumbled across. Unfortunately the timing won't work out, but I appreciate the suggestion!

 

[dinnerstick]

Incidentally, how's the weather around late May / early June in Holland and southern Germany? We'll be outside for most of our Netherlands adventures and sort of limited on how many clothing options we can have for this leg of the trip.

oh man. the rainy season lasts from april to april. well, you could get really lucky and it will be 22 and scattered clouds, but i wouldn't put money on it

my utrecht beer suggestions:
stop by cafe belgië to observe the dregs of beer soaked misfits and smokers outside on the "patio" (=sidewalk bench) and great tap and bottle lists inside, it's on the oudegracht (main canal), it's dingy, the beer's good. and bert's bierhuis, an extensive bottled beer shop, mostly dutch and belgian, some american treats and german standards, and if you like cheese it's a few doors down from kazerij stalenhoef, with an excellent dutch and european cheese selection and the staff will let you sample anything. try a beer from maximus, utrecht's newest microbrewery, or de leckere, somewhat standard but high quality organic beers. de oudaen is a bar/restaurant/brewery in a beautiful old 13th century castley type building on the canal but they don't let you see the brewery in the basement unless you book a 14 person tour in advance, good beer but more upscale atmosphere, great if the afternoon sun is out to sit in their outdoor seating on the canal. what's really fun though if the weather is nice is to rent an electric motorboat, pack a cooler, and do a few laps of the moat and canals until you can't steer any more

 

[cjb]

Amsterdam: as mentioned, check out t'Arendsnest - they specialize in Dutch beers, lots of stuff you won't find other places.

If you can make it to Bodegraven, it's well worth your time to do the tour of de Molen. (Reserve a spot ahead of time. Tour is usually given in Dutch, though they were very accommodating to myself and the other 2 Americans in the group). They also have a good restaurant and bottle shop attached.

La Trappe is a nice stop on a sunny afternoon, though I don't think they give tours or anything. Same goes for Achel (just across the border in Belgium).

There's a good bottle shop in Utrecht where I've bought Westvleteren (among other things) in the past. edit: it's Bert's Bierhaus, as noted above

 

[Henry22]

Didnt read the posts before but I highly recommend going to the bier gartens in the englischer gartens in Munich. Drinking a beer with a hugh pretzel beneath the big trees is awesome. Also the glass deposit is only a euro so I highly suggest you take as many glasses as you can. Its like 6 or 7 euros for a huge mug and when you return the glass you get one back. Keep the mug, much cheaper than tourist shops or the brewery stores.

 

[bueschen]

Didnt read the posts before but I highly recommend going to the bier gartens in the englischer gartens in Munich. Drinking a beer with a hugh pretzel beneath the big trees is awesome. Also the glass deposit is only a euro so I highly suggest you take as many glasses as you can. Its like 6 or 7 euros for a huge mug and when you return the glass you get one back. Keep the mug, much cheaper than tourist shops or the brewery stores.

Dude, that's not cool! Purchase your souvenirs from a gift shop. As long as people like you steal glassware they'll keep jacking the price of beer up to compensate.

 

[Henry22]

Dude, that's not cool! Purchase your souvenirs from a gift shop. As long as people like you steal glassware they'll keep jacking the price of beer up to compensate.

That's doesn't make sense. Just increase the bottle deposit to some high number and people will stop. Why not just have people at the exits asking for your glasses? I stayed with a German over there and he didn't think it was a big deal. If I can get a glass for a euro or for five or more, you can bet I'm getting it for a euro every time.

Like I said, I didn't though.

 

[patto1ro]

Brouwerij Het Ij does tours most afternoons. Definitely worth going as they have the weirdest setup I've seen.

As for Amsterdam pubs, I've a very extensive guide:

http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/amsintr.htm

I'd personally recommend some of the jenever bars. Wonderful old-fashioned pubs. Ooievaer and Olofs Port are the best.

Gollem's Proef Lokaal on the Overtoom is worth checking out. They usually have Westvleteren 8 and 12. I thik the 12 is 14 euros. Not a bad price for a bar.

De Diep, a pub-distillery in Flevo Park is an oddity. Its own jenevers plus s fairly obscure Czech beer on draught. Lovely setting, too.

I'll second De Molen in Bodegraven as a good brewery to visit. There's avery good bottle shop with lots of obscure Scandinavian beers. It takes around an hour by train from Amsterdam (changing trains once). The brewery is just a few minutes' walk from Bodegraven station.

Forschungs Brauerei in Munich is interesting, but out of the way. Has excellent beer, too.

 

[bueschen]

That's doesn't make sense. Just increase the bottle deposit to some high number and people will stop. Why not just have people at the exits asking for your glasses? I stayed with a German over there and he didn't think it was a big deal. If I can get a glass for a euro or for five or more, you can bet I'm getting it for a euro every time.

Like I said, I didn't though.

The only point I want to make is that taking glassware from a beergarden or bar etc. will cause the prices to go up. If you enjoy the service they provide why steal from them?

 

[Henry22]

The only point I want to make is that taking glassware from a beergarden or bar etc. will cause the prices to go up. If you enjoy the service they provide why steal from them?

Technically it isn't stealing. I would have paid a euro for it.

Edit: I don't want to clog this guys thread with a rather pointless discussion about glassware and beer gardens so I'm done. To each their own.

 

[bueschen]

Technically it is stealing. If you don't believe me then next time you are in a beer garden in Munich, tell them as you are walking out with a maß that it's okay because you paid a deposit.

Edit: I don't find this discussion pointless at all. As I live in this city and have to pay artificially high prices in many of the beer gardens because some people think it's okay to steal. I do however apologize to the OP and hope he has a kick ass trip!

 

[kraypd]

The Erdingerweiss tour was very good and included two hours of drinking with sausage and pretzels. I wasn't a fan until tasting the beers fresh at the brewery - Especially the Urweisse. I think that it was 10 euros and is one of the few tours in the Munich area that you will find running on Fridays.

 

[Psych]

Technically it is stealing. If you don't believe me then next time you are in a beer garden in Munich, tell them as you are walking out with a maß that it's okay because you paid a deposit.

Edit: I don't find this discussion pointless at all. As I live in this city and have to pay artificially high prices in many of the beer gardens because some people think it's okay to steal. I do however apologize to the OP and hope he has a kick ass trip!

I get where you're coming from, no worries, thank you I doubt I'll have the balls to cart any glassware home in my suitcase on an international flight anyhow!

I appreciate all the tips everyone, this WILL be kick ass!