Netherlands beer · Beer in Netherlands  TodayTourism All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels

Beer in Netherlands


Beer in Netherlands

Wieckse Witte, a popular white beer (witbier)
Wieckse Witte, a popular white beer (witbier)
Although the Dutch beer "Heineken" is one of the world's most famous beers, it is just one of the many beer brands in the Netherlands, and many Dutchmen consider it to be only a second-rate pilsener. You can get all kinds of beers from white beer to dark beer. Popular brands are Heineken, Grolsch, Brand, Bavaria, Amstel etc. There's a certain regional variety in the beers you'll find; whereas, in the Netherlands, many pubs serve Heineken or Amstel, pubs in Brabant will generally serve Bavaria or Dommelsch, in Limburg Brand and in Gelderland Grolsch. In addition to the usual lagers, try Dutch white beers (witbier), which are flavored with a spice mix called gruit and thus taste different from the better-known German varieties. Fruit-flavored varieties are also available. Traditional beers come from monasteries in the South of the Netherlands (Brabant and Limburg) or Belgium. You can visit a traditional beer brewer in for instance Berkel-Enschot (just east of Tilburg) at the 'Trappistenklooster'. It needs to be said that the brewery is now owned by the big brewer Bavaria, so it's not so traditional any more. There are also a lot of excellent small and micro breweries (Brouwerij 't IJ, Brouwerij de Molen, Brouwerij de Prael etc.), if you're a beer lover in Amsterdam consider visiting the beer shop "De Bierkoning" near "De Dam" (central square of Amsterdam), it was over a thousand beer, about half of it is Dutch and "Brouwerij 't IJ". Most breweries have nowadays also produce a non-alcoholic variant of their beers, like Bavaria Malt or Amstel Malt. Which consist sometimes 0% or less than 0,5 alcohol and is very suitable for people who would like to drive and don't drink (or sometimes called "de Bob" as promoted in its campaign).

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Netherlands


Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Netherlands - updated Mar 2024

SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Netherlands hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!


>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<

WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020


Netherlands Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | All Destinations