Europe 2014: heineken

One of the 'have-to-visit' places while in Amsterdam is the Heineken Brewery and so I did. Truth be told, I was never a beer person, I'll drink it when everyone is having one or when the alternative is wine. Anyway, I went for the Heineken Experience during one of my days in Amsterdam. Here are some photos that I've taken.

Entrance

Also at the entrance

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was surprised that there weren't any queues. Most of those there were adults (of course) and mostly non-Asians. The only other Asians there, beside me, were some Indian couples, although I did see some Koreans and Chinese at the souvenir shops at the end of the tour.

After paying for entrance, I was given a rubber bracelet with 3 different plastic pins.

The two 'enjoy responsibly' pins can be used to redeem 2 glasses of cold beer or 1 glasses of extra-cold beer. The other white pin is for a nice souvenir Heineken glass, redeemable at the Heineken Store about 1.2km away.

show & tell - intro to making Heineken beer

Before everything else, we need to know the beer-making process, and the lovely lady shown in the picture above explained to us the ingredients and processes needed to make the world famous Dutch beer. Then it was all the historic part of the tour, showcasing all the tools and equipment used in the beer-making. Didn't really took much photos of those because of all the people whom were hanging around and kinda blocking the shots.

nice barrels

Heineken logos thru the years

Then we came to the old factory floor where the beer was manufactured.

We then came to a place where there are interactive games and Heineken memorabilia on display. Again, lots of 'kids' (aka young people) hogging those so I didn't really try many of them. There were also a fun ride and a demo session at the tasting bar on how to enjoy your Heineken beer where everyone gets a 'small' glass of beer.

Before we end the tour at the souvenir shop, there is the bar where we redeem our pins for beer(s). People were just hanging out, chilling and chugging beer. I chose the 1-glass extra-cold beer option cos I don't think I would be able to finish 2 glasses as I wanted to move on with my exploration of the city.

Overall, it was an interesting tour even if you are not a real beer lover. :) And it is definitely worth the entrance fee. Who can say no to ice-cold beers on a hot summer day?