I’m not really a lager drinker, but friends who have visited Amsterdam say the Heineken Experience is worth visiting. Never ones to reject advice without checking things out for ourselves, we trot off to experience the "Experience".
The Experience is housed in Heineken’s original Amsterdam brewery, and parts of the building date back to1867. The complex was a proper working brewery until 1988, and after the brewery re-sited, Heineken redeveloped the buildings as an attraction. The intention was to create a museum, which was interesting, informative, and fun. I reckon they achieved that goal.
Having paid your admission charge of 10 euros, you’ll be directed to the old streets of Amsterdam. This clever reconstruction attempts to give you a sense of how things were, and the shop fronts and taped noises go some way to set the scene. At the end of this short meander through 17th-century Amsterdam, you’re ready to explore the world of beer-making. There’s an interactive experience—one of those 3D "static" rides when you’ll experience the life of a Heineken beer bottle as it passes down the conveyor belt. I’m never sure that these experiences are good for me, as I soon begin to feel nauseous, but I try them anyway. The intention is that you feel the movement, and although I’m glad I’ve tried it, I am also glad when it finishes. But being a glutton for punishment, I leap into one of the horse-drawn carts to try yet another "near-real" experience. I actually quite enjoy this one, as your horse canters round the street of Amsterdam as if it’s on a beer delivery run. It’s a good way to see the street from the dry, bumpy comfort of the Heineken Experience.
The malting "experience" comes complete with explanations, computer games, and an experimental drum kit (made out of Heineken barrels), which is yours to play on if you wait your turn. We have fun as we walk through the brewing "experience", as here you stand in the brewing vats, and as you look up, the master brewer is looking down at you. A few minutes later, I am that master brewer and am communicating with the tourists at the bottom of the vat. They are as confused as you probably are now. But we have great fun mimicking their movements and watching their absolute bewilderment as this "taped message" responds to their idiosyncratic movements. It’s great, as they appear on our level and realise that they’ve just been communicating with me!
Three free beers en-route (double if your wife doesn’t drink), and you’ll have enjoyed the trip. Of course, the final stop is the usual museum shop. Nothing to hold me here, because this beer isn’t my normal tipple, but we do carry out our "free" half-pint beer glasses, which are carefully wrapped for their journey back to the U.K. I’m still using them on a regular basis, but not for Lager!