Amsterdam

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Heineken Brewery

More Photos
Kathy
Kathy
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
22
Reviews
43
Photos
Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-5 of 22

Cross Between a Brewery Tour and a Fun House

  • August 27, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ch2001 from Chicago, Illinois
Cross Between a Brewery Tour and a Fun House

In a city with so much history and culture, it slightly embarrasses me to say that the Heineken Experience was one of the trips highlights. First off, the tour is in English, so after two days faced with the language barrier I was happy to completely understand my surroundings.

The tour started with a video running through the founding and evolution of the company, followed by a maze filled with historical Heineken objects.

Eventually you make your way to the brewery littered with large copper colored cisterns and the smell of barley. In this room you can read and hear about the beer making process, and taste the wort separated during the mashing process.

Next is the "Brew You Ride", a virtual experience that takes you through the beer making process (in English of course), complete with a moving platform, wind, and mist. This was a definitely a "is this real?" moment.

After the ride, you enter a room with two star shaped bars tended by English speaking dutch bartenders. There they crack some jokes, explain why beer is supposed to have head (including a fairly comical joke for those English speakers), and give you your first sample.

From here the tour transitions to a bit of a fun house atmosphere - Heineken video games, short videos displayed in single person pods, Heineken sports memorabilia, and loads of other things to overload your senses.

The finale is, of course, a bar with another sample. Your ticket includes two samples, but they weren't stopping at two. Try the Heineken '0' - it's kept at zero degrees Celsius, so it's refreshingly ice cold.

Don't forget to swing by the gift shop on your way out - it's reasonably priced and their pint glasses make great gifts.

From journal A Week in Europe 2009: Amsterdam for Three Days

A Neat Experience

  • July 9, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Wizeazzgurl from Union, New Jersey
A Neat Experience

Let me start off by saying that I am not a big drinker, I do not even like beer, but my best friend did and we had heard that this place deserves a visit. Oh boy! Was everyone right.

As soon as you walk in, you immediately know you are going to have a good time. With the price of admission you get 3 tickets, 2 for beers and one for a gift.

You walk through and read and see some pretty interesting things. Let me take this chance to tell you that this is not a active brewery, this probably was back in the day, but it is more of a museum. Here is the good part, you get to the first bar, where you take your ticket, give it to the bartender and he gives you a nice size glass of the freshest beer I have tasted, beleive me I have tasted a couple of my friends beers and till then they all seemed the same. I do not know if the alcohol content is differ in the Netherlands but this ONE glass got me a little fuzzy.....

There are some great pics to be taken inside. The gift shop is nice and the whole thing is a cool little experience. Take into consideration I am not big on museums or any of that sort.

In regards to children, I personally do not think the kids would benefit at all from this unless they are interested in seeing the horses.


From journal 2 Azn Chicks in Amsterdam

Editor Pick

Heineken Brewery

  • March 26, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Travelny2 from New York, New York
The Heineken Brewery (Brouwery) was a very fun experience and at only 10 euros, one of the best values that we found in Europe. At least with admission here you get something tangible in return, in the form of free fresh brewed beer!

The Brewery is a bit of a walk from the most central part of Amsterdam but still relatively short, probably about 15 or 20 minutes. There is usually a small line to get in but it moves quickly, we waited less then 10 minutes even though the line went all the way out the door.

The tour first takes you through a series of rooms that illustrate and educate the guest on the history of Heineken, the brewing process and the various stages and looks of the Heineken bottle throughout the decades. The interior is designed in an old fashioned style giving the whole place the look of an old village.

The tour will take you through an interactive room where you can play games, answer trivia questions etc. There were probably at least a dozen or so interactive exhibits. One of the highlights of this room was a machine that allowed you to take a picture of you and your friends, put a digital Heineken frame around it of your choosing and then email it to friends and family back home all free of charge. It was a nice souvenir and something to remember the place by when you got home.

There was another room that takes you on a virtual ride of what it is like to "be a Heineken" from brewing through the bottling process and onto consumption. You stand on a vibrating tilting platform with a large screen in front of you.

Finally you will pass through the brewing room where you will see the distilling vats and then at the end you arrive at the bar where you can exchange two of your tokens for two free beers. There are booths and tables to relax at with interactive TV panels at each of the booths that have a few more things you can check out. There is a very extensive gift shop connected to the bar with every Heineken related item you could possibly want to purchase. If you hang around in the bar for a while there is a pretty decent chance that someone will offer you extra drink tokens that they don't want to use. This happened to us twice in about 20 minutes. There is also another bar about halfway through the tour where you exchange a different colored token for a beer, so you get three in all included in the admission price.

The Heineken Experience was a lot of fun and definitely worth the price. The beer was excellent and it doesn't get any more fresh. 10 euros well spent as far as we were concerned.

From journal 24 Hours in Amsterdam

Editor Pick

Heinekenbrouwerij

  • June 8, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Mandan Lynn from Smithwick, South Dakota
Heinekenbrouwerij

Heineken Experience
10am-6pm (7pm in July and August)
10 euros (no student discount)

The admission fee includes three drinks and a gift--a bottle opener.

I don't like beer that much. But I was DELIGHTED by this place. It was such fun. You get the history of Heineken beer making, as well as ridiculous diversions such as a show where you find out what it's like to be a beer bottle, make your own music video (which you can email to your friends), old Heineken commercials, and other silly things that make for great photo opportunities. Definitely visit with some travel buddies--you'll have a blast.

And you get three drinks--nice, big drinks. Like I said, like you know, I don't care for beer that much, but I really found myself enjoying this Heineken. In fact, I had just had a Heineken the night before at a bar, and the quality was much lower than the beer here.

Give yourself at least 2 hours for the experience. We had an hour and a half and felt a little rushed.

From journal Amsterdam, Netherlands

Editor Pick

Heineken Experience

  • June 5, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by notso62 from Boston, Massachusetts
Heineken Experience

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.

From journal Mixing Business and Pleasure in Amsterdam

Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-5 of 22

Compare Amsterdam Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Amsterdam Travel Deals