The
Quest for the Holy Grain - Best Beer Bars |
Netherlands |
Amsterdam | Delft |
Craft & Draft Craft & Draft is a beer bar on a busy street in a residential neighborhood in Amsterdam. |
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'cause BEER loves FOOD One would think that a place with a name like 'cause BEER Loves FOOD would be a restaurant. |
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Little Delirium Like in many European cities, the train station in Amsterdam is a transportation and shopping hub. |
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Taproom Taproom is a beer bar just a block away from the busy tourist attraction: Heineken Experience - Interactive beer museum and tour. |
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Arendsnest Arendsnest is a beer bar in one of the nicer residential neighborhoods near downtown Amsterdam. |
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Gollem Proeflokaal Gollem Proeflokaal is a beer bar in an old neighborhood on the edge of Amsterdam's Museum District. |
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De Brabanste Aap De Brabanste Aap is typical of the larger cafes we found in Amsterdam.
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Cafe Belgique Look for the " La Chouffe" sign above the very narrow Gravenstraat and below it you'll find Cafe Belgique, which bills itself as one of Amsterdam's smallest beer havens and they're probably right. Its maybe twenty feet square and very dark but for a soft yellow glow. We found seven taps and what looked like about 50 or so bottles of largely Belgian beers (some Dutch, too). The two tables and eight barstools seemed to be occupied by locals. If you're visiting Amsterdam's Dam Square (and why wouldn't you?) you're only a few minutes' walk away - stop by for a good beer in a cozy place.
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An American's Thoughts on Beer in Delft, The Netherlands Delft is a city of about 100,000 residents. Founded in the 13th century, it remains a charming place of historic canals, squares, churches and of course that blue and white pottery. It's a living postcard. If you randomly walk into a cafe or restaurant in Delft the usual beer suspects will be Heineken, Grolsch, Jupiler, Palm, and the like. Even so, almost every place we visited had at least one beer that was new to us. Most of the beers served in the more beer-centric cafes and restaurants are from Belgium; Dutch beers are less common but worth trying when you find them. Search for the European equivalent of "craft beer" from smaller breweries and you won't be disappointed (unless you're a hophead). Our canal tour guide was quite proud that brewing was Delft's first industry, but sadly there are no breweries there today. However, three of the places we visited had their own unique "Delft beer" ( all contract brews). From the tap, everything is a small pour in the 6-8 ounce range. Forget about seeing any pint glasses, and that's OK because... There are few beers below 6%. Count on walking back to your hotel, and that's OK too because... Delft is compact and very walkable (and bikeable). All the places we visited are within no more than a ten-minute walk of each other. As one local said, "It is sort of paradise living in a city where a decent boozer is rarely more than 200 meters away." There really is a different glass for every beer, and more often than not a different glass for every style from every brewery. Sometimes there are even different coasters for different styles. Delft had some of the most knowledgeable and personable bar and wait staff we've ever run across - very nice folks.
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Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant The Waterhuis is a beer bar in the busy tourist district of Gent, BE.
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Belvedere Belgian Beer Cafe The Belvedere, on the picturesque Beestenmarkt (cattle market), has six tap beers and 35 in the bottle, largely Belgians that included many of our favorites (Karmeliet Tripel, Barbar and Leffe Radieuse for example). It has both a bar and a restaurant where we enjoyed several meals. Go here for a good selection of decent beers and a nice lunch or dinner. |
Locus Publicus Locus Publicus is basically a beer bar with a limited food menu.
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Cafe Het Klooster You may know this bar as Trappistenlokaal 't Klooster, which it was called until 2017. A beer bar - no food here. But with 20 taps and 120 bottles - mostly Belgians - you won't be bored.
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Doerak Beer Cafe A local cafe along a small canal, with ten taps and a large number of bottled beers; no food that we could see. Go here for some quiet and to watch life in Delft go by.
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Cafe Kobus Kuch A cozy local cafe also on the Beestenmarkt with a small but tasty menu and a beer list to match. Their claim to beer fame is being the current home of the original Delft beer Delftsche Knollaert, brewed "according to the ancient recipe". It's a tasty beer that goes well with the apple pie. The pie alone is reason to go here.
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Biercafe 't Proeflokaal
Proeflokaal is, by Delft standards, a large place (two storefronts wide), which is all the better to house its fourteen taps and about 300 different bottles of beer. With a wide selection of Belgians and good representation by others, the highlight of this place is another Delft beer called Delvenaer, a big banana mouthfeel tripel that's reason enough to make the trip. Say hello to Ed for us. (PS - In spite of reports elsewhere, this is not a British beer bar.) |