This isn't a museum in the traditional sense. In fact, the only things from the past are the old brew kettles and lager tanks where the beer matured. The highlight of the tour, if you can call it that, is a 3-minute "ride" where you experience what it's like to be a beer bottle--I won't give any more away! A similar ride on a horse-drawn coach delivering beer was equally disappointing. There are also computer games, and you can create a video of yourself (either at a set of drums or embedded into a bottling line video or a background of beer using blue-screen technology) to send to friends. The only consolation is that you get three free drinks (of Heineken, of course) and a promotional glass.

I went when there was a line waiting to get in at around 4:30pm. We didn't get in until 5pm, and although normally this would be more than enough time, we were not allowed to try all the exhibits before closing time (6pm).

Good tour--worth the 10e for the tour. You get three beers and a glass. Learn how beer is made. There are two bars, a DJ booth, and Internet movies to send home.

If you like beer, it is fun. If for no other reason at all, you should go for the four free beers. You might want to take a train home from there if you are far away.

Go to the Bacardi Factory in Puerto Rico, and you have a solid factory tour coupled with a rum tasting at the end. But don't go to the Heineken Factory in Amsterdam expecting anything like that. It is, to put it simply, a disappointment. Virtual rides take you on the streets of Amsterdam on the Heineken horses. A walk through the brewing room is a walk through the old brewing room--no beer is currently made or processed there. The first three rooms on the tour represent the ingredients of beer; one of the room discusses the role of water in making beer. The only beer I saw was the one I was poured in the Heineken bars, which could've been poured at a bar with more ambience and history for the 10 euros I spent on admission.

If you like good beer, the Heineken Experience is for you! This was a working brewery until 1988, but now it's a museum and beer hall. Learn a little a history about Amsterdam and the brewery's namesake. See inside actual mash coppers and an explanation of the brewing process. The best part is getting to sample the fresh beer at two bars on the tour.

The tour is self-guided, so you take as much time as you want. You learn about how, at 22 years old, Gerard Adriaan Heineken borrowed money from his mother to build a new brewery on Stadhouderskade, and how Heineken became one of the most popular beers and one of the most respected names in the world. There's a virtual ride that takes you down the path of a Heineken bottle, from empty to full to nightclub. There's another that takes you through the streets of Amsterdam on a clydesdale-driven carriage.

There's an Internet cafe that lets you take a picture of yourself and email it to someone and a small giftshop at the end of the tour. Also, everyone who goes through the museum gets a free gift on the way out.

It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. It's very easy to get to from anywhere in the city. Take trams 24 or 16 and get off at Stadhouderskade.