One of the questions we get asked the most is “what are the latest trends of the Amsterdam food scene?”. And while we would love to come up with a surprising and insightful answer every time, that’s not how it works. It’s usually some rather unexpected event that triggers us to recognize a new trend. And so it happened last weekend on a trip to our favorite wine and liquor store Ton Overmars.

There are a lot of new local microbreweries in Amsterdam!

The Veterans – Brouwerij ‘t IJ and Brouwerij de Prael

It’s not that there were no microbreweries in Amsterdam before.

Actually, Brouwerij ‘t IJ has been around since 1985, and we have enjoyed many of their tasty brews throughout the years, especially on their lovely terrace by the windmill in Amsterdam Oost.

And it wasn’t just us, as Brouwerij ‘t IJ has been very successful. They extended their tasting room a few years ago and opened a second brewery in early 2013. So today you can find their distinct ostrich logo (a pun on IJ and ei, which means egg) in many bars and shops, and enjoy their regular selection of brews as well as seasonal specials.

Equally successful, although not around for quite as long, has been Brouwerij de Prael, another established household name in beers in Amsterdam, with its selection of beers named after Dutch chanson singers and tasting room smack in the middle of the red light district.

Given their success, and the microbrewery craze that swept the US, it’s probably surprising that nobody else was concocting fresh IPAs or mean Belgian Tripels around Amsterdam. But that has changed now.

The Rookies – Brouwerij Pampus, Two Chefs Brewing, and Butcher’s Tears

Over the last two years Brouwerij Pampus, Two Chefs Brewing, and Butcher’s Tears have started brewing, and we like what we taste!

The self-proclaimed old salts at Brouwerij Pampus spent much of 2012 and 2013 experimenting with different brews, gathering extensive feedback through their Facebook page and participating in countless beer festivals with a wide variety of beers. All their beers seem to follow a sailor’s naming scheme, such as the Drenkeling (drowning person), a Juniper Ale, or Seeheld (hero of the sea), an IPA that we quite liked for its bitter yet somewhat unexpected but lovely creamy flavor.

Two Chefs Brewing also started in 2012. Coming from a background as professional chefs and looking for interesting flavors they are on a mission to put more barley, more hops and just generally more flavor back into beer. So far they have made available an IPA called Green Bullet, which indeed is heavy on the hops.

The last newcomer is Butcher’s Tears, located in small-scale industrial zone by the tram depot in Amsterdam Zuid. The tasting room and website look distinctly grungy, but there seems to be a rather professional organisation behind it if the range of beers and the list of distribution points are any indication. We liked hanging out in their tasting room where both the Night Cap, a smooth pale ale, and the refreshing Green Cap went down well.

Where to Taste

Quite a nice list if we may say so! But there appear to be even more such as Brouwerij De 7 Deugden, which provides work opportunities to disabled people, Jopen, the pride of Haarlem, or Oedipus Brewing who are currently looking for investors through a crowfunding platform.

We are probably still missing a few, so best to do some exploring yourself. Here’s where:

Brouwerij ‘t IJ, Brouwerij de Prael and Butcher’s Tears have fun tasting rooms:

brouwerijhetij.nl/pub

Funenkade 7

1018 AL Amsterdam

Tel.: +31 (0)20 528 6237

Open daily 2pm to 8pm

Public transport: Tram 10 to Hoogte Kadijk stop or tram 14 to Pontanusstraat

Cuisine: Limited selection of cold snacks

Neighborhood: East

Vibe: Love all

deprael.nl/proeflokaal-2

Oudezijds Armsteeg 26

1012 GP Amsterdam

Tel.: +31 (0)20 408 4469

Open Tuesday to Sunday 12pm to 12am, weekend until 1am

Public transport: Any tram, metro or train to Central Station

Cuisine: Snacks and small dishes

Neighborhood: Red light district

Vibe: Living room

butchers-tears.com/tasting-room

Karperweg 45

1075 LB Amsterdam

Tel.: +31 (0)6 5390 9777

Open Wednesday to Sunday 4pm to 9pm

Public transport: Bus 15 or tram 16 to Haarlemmermeerstation

Cuisine: Snacks

Neighborhood: South

Vibe: Artsy

Two of our favorite beer bars that serve some of the above, next to an amazing selection of specialty beers on tap and bottled, are Café Gollem and Arendsnest:

arendsnest.nl

Herengracht 90

1015 BS Amsterdam

Tel.: +31 (0)20 421 2057

Open Daily 2pm to 12am, weekend until 2am

Public transport: Tram 1, 2, 5, 13 or 17 to Nieuwezijds Kolk

Cuisine: Limited selection of cold snacks

Neighborhood: Canals

Vibe: Bar

cafegollem.nl/?page_id=14

Raamsteeg 4

1012 VZ Amsterdam

Open weekdays 4pm to 1am, weekends 12pm to 2am

Public transport: Tram 1, 2, or 5 to Spui

Cuisine: Cheese snacks

Neighborhood: Canals

Vibe: Dive bar

Or bring a few bottles home at one of these two great specialty stores, De Bierkoning and Ton Overmaars:

bierkoning.nl

Paleisstraat 125

1012 ZL Amsterdam

Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 7pm and Sunday 1pm to 6pm

Public transport: Tram 1, 2, 5, 13 or 17 to Dam

Neighborhood: Dam

tonovermars.nl

Hoofddorpplein 11

1059 CV Amsterdam

Open Tuesday and Wednesday 9am to 6pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 7pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm

Public transport: 2 to Hoofddorpplein

Neighborhood: South