If you’ve ever visited the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis, you’ll be surprised at the stark differences between the two—no prolonged photo ops with Clydesdales here. After walking through a recreated historical village, it’s pretty much a Heineken wonderland of amusement rides, modern gadgets, and bars from there on out. You’ll literally walk into a large brewing vat with see-through portals in the floor, sit in reclining chairs with thin TV screens showing vintage Heineken commercials, and take the reigns of a horse-drawn coach through the streets of Amsterdam.
I especially enjoyed when a group of about 25 people and I were herded into a mysterious, dark room and told to grab onto the rails in front of us. Soon after, we took a bumpy ride that followed the life of a beer bottle from its inception to its inevitable end at a raucous party blaring everyone’s favorite anthem, “Celebrate.” It was quite surreal listening to people from around the world scream in delight at every twist and turn of the bottle. Many even started dancing in place when the song began.
Other highlights included vintage photographs hung throughout the tour; the ghostly laboratory projection of Dr. Elion, who is credited with discovering the A-yeast strain that only Heineken uses; and a hilarious commercial from 1988 that can be viewed near the end of the tour in the “World of Heineken.”
Make sure you don’t save your third drink voucher for the third bar on the tour, because there isn’t one. And make sure you stop to pick up your “free gift”—I won’t ruin it for you, but let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised with what I got. This is not to be missed on your visit to Amsterdam!
Heineken is the fourth largest beer-brewing company in the world, and its popular beverages can be sampled at almost any bar you go to stateside or abroad. This brewing company is an Amsterdam original, having been founded here in 1865. The brewery today is no longer in the city (they have since moved to larger facilities outside of Amsterdam), but the original factory is now open to the public in the form of museum.
Located convieniently near public transportation on Stadhouderskade, the Heineken Experience is a very popular tourist attraction for those visiting Amsterdam. Be sure to go either earlier in the day on a weekend or on a weekday to avoid excessive crowds. They don’t stay open very late either, think more like museum hours instead of bar hours. The tour itself is self-guided, but visitors typically spend about an hour in the exhibit.
The drinking age in Amsterdam is a non-issue for most, but those that are 18-years of age or younger must be accompanied by an adult in order to embark on the Heineken Experience. For the most part, the crowd is in the 20- to 30-something range.
Outside the experience, the old “Heineken Brouwerie” sign still decorates the front of the building, confusing some people into thinking that the beer is still manufactured here. Inside the experience, it is obvious that this is not a factory environment anymore. The building has been converted into an ode-to-Heineken exhibit. Here you can learn about the founders, the process, and everybody who has helped Heineken become the massive conglomerate it is today.
The €10 admission includes a self-guided tour and tasting session. You can sample many of Heineken’s famous brews in a plentiful quantity for this price (I believe you get three drink tickets with admission). It is advisable to visit the gift store before the tasting, otherwise you may be tempted to buy Heineken parephenalia that you don’t really need in your partially inebriated state. The gift shop has many great souvenirs for friends back home though, so should not be skipped entirely.
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