We don’t understand beers. To paint you a picture, we usually look at a menu aimlessly in a brewery shop & when the waitress asks, “what you in the mood today loves. IPA? Blondie? Ale?”
We just respond with a blank face and say, “huh? uhh. um… what do you recommend”
Yep… we’re not beer pros by any means. But we sure can drink them! Thus, what better place to learn more about beer than a brewery tour in Amsterdam!
The Heineken company was founded in 1864 and this Amsterdam brewery was its flagship hub. In 1991, this historic brewery decided to convert its brewery to an educational experience for everyone to learn its history and beer making.
Throughout this interactive tour, there will be plenty of tour guides showing you how beer is prepared. Fun fact, beer is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, Water, Hops, and Yeast.
As the tour guide talks, there are also interesting gallery pieces for you to read and enjoy.
I love how hands-on it is. In the factory, you literally get to see how all the ingredients are prepared!
Even better, you get to go on an interactive ride AND most importantly… you get to DRINK IT.
Not just one drink, not two… but THREE drinks total! Heineken is very generous to its patrons. Clearly, they want us to be drunk by the end of the tour…
For fun, you can optionally purchase a customized Heineken beer and have your name engraved. I’m a big sucker for these type of things, so I couldn’t resist purchasing one as a souvenir…
Overall, this was a highly entertaining tour. For a mere 16 euros, you get to learn its history, get educated on how beer is made, go on an interactive ride, AND generously sample three beers to your heart’s content.
In the end, it’s all about learning & having fun with your company. After all, a journey is best measured in friends rather than miles. Of course, having a beer or two along the way doesn’t hurt either 😉
So next time a waitress asks, “what you in the mood today loves?”
We’ll be more inclined to say, “Heineken… I’ll have a Heineken.”
Chai Bear World 