Exploring Amsterdam - The Heineken Experience Brewery Tour, Amsterdam, Netherlands

A trip to Amsterdam would not be complete without spending some time at the Heineken Brewery. The Heineken Experience is a major tourist attraction in Amsterdam and offers a glimpse into the history and brewing process of the ‘golden’ beer. It is an interactive and very nice tour to discover the world of Heineken. This post will describe in detail every part of the experience and will provide some tips and general information.

1. Educate yourself. The experience starts with a visit to the old silos. Here, an employee will tell you all about Heineken’s history, the founders, the first bottle and how the beer was developed.

2. Walk through the beer silos. You can walk through the old silos and see some memorabilia, awards, and medals.

3. Know your beer ingredients. An employee will tell you an interesting and short story about the four main ingredients of a Heineken beer.

4. Kettle yourself. Within this room, you can see some preserved original copper kettles. The inside of the kettles are empty and used to project films on. In this room, you can also stir water in a massive barrel, grind barley and taste a mix of barley and water (not delicious though!)

5. Meet the horses. After the copper kettles room, you will visit the horse stable. I was lucky to meet Jean-Francois and Gerard, two of the nine black Shire horses. The horses have always played an important role in the Heineken story. In the past, they were used as a source of power and to transport the beer around the country. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).