Craft beer in Amsterdam: breweries and beer bars

Reading a Dutch beer menu

The Dutch distinguish between pils, the bottom-fermented lager served on draught everywhere, and speciaalbier, a term that covers everything else. Once you look beyond pils, most styles come from Belgium or the English-speaking world:

• Witbier: a cloudy, refreshing wheat beer, often flavoured with coriander and citrus peel.
• Blond and tripel: blonde ales in the Belgian tradition, the second one stronger (often 8 to 9%), both fruity and dry.
• Dubbel: a brown or reddish ale with notes of roasted malt and caramel, around 6 to 7%.
• IPA: a heavily hopped, bitter and aromatic beer; almost every Amsterdam brewery makes several.
• Bok: a darker, maltier seasonal beer (see below), with spring versions, lentebok or meibok, that are paler.
• Stout and sour: dark roasted beers and tart fruit beers.

At the bar, een biertje means a draught pils, served in a small straight glass (fluitje) or a wider one (vaasje). In a proeflokaal (tasting room), ask for a proeverij, a set of small glasses to taste several beers. Tap means draught, fles means bottle.

Bock season and the PINT Bokbierfestival

Bock is the great autumn beer of the Netherlands. From late September, most breweries release their herfstbok, an amber to brown, rounded beer with caramel and toasted bread aromas, usually between 6 and 8%. Cafés then put up "bokbier" signs until the end of autumn.

The highlight is the PINT Bokbierfestival, organised by PINT, the Dutch beer enthusiasts' association. The 44th edition takes place on Friday 2 October 2026 from 17:00 to 22:00 and Saturday 3 October from 13:00 to 22:00, at De Hallen Studio's (Hannie Dankbaarpassage 18), in the former tram depot of De Hallen. More than 40 bock beers are poured. Admission costs €27.50 and includes four tokens, the festival booklet and a glass on loan; each extra token costs €3.50. Payment is by card only. The festival returns every year in early October.

Brouwerij 't IJ, at the foot of De Gooyer windmill

The city's best-known brewery moved in 1985 into a former public bathhouse on the Funenkade, at the foot of De Gooyer windmill, the tallest wooden windmill in the Netherlands. Its logo, an ostrich holding an egg, is a familiar sight in Amsterdam's cafés. Zatte, an 8% tripel, was the first beer to come out of its kettles; IJwit (witbier) and Columbus (a 9% amber) are its other classics.

Proeflokaal de Molen (Funenkade 7) pours most of the range on draught and has a large terrace with long tables. It opens Monday to Friday from 14:00 to 22:00 and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 22:00. A 25 cl glass costs €4.50 to €4.75, a 40 cl glass €6.95 to €7.50, and a tasting of the five classics (5 × 15 cl) €17.50. The venue is not wheelchair accessible.

The brewery tour runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at 15:00 in English and 16:00 in Dutch. It lasts about 20 minutes, costs €2.50 and takes up to 20 people: sign up at the bar when you arrive or book online. The brewery also runs Café Struis (Zeeburgerstraat 1), right next door, and 't Blauwe Theehuis, the round pavilion in the Vondelpark. Allow about 30 minutes on foot from Centraal Station, or combine the visit with the Oost district.

Amsterdam-Noord: Oedipus and Walhalla

On the north bank of the IJ, the former industrial land of Buiksloterham is home to two independent breweries. The easiest way there is the free F3 ferry (to Buiksloterweg) from behind Centraal Station, then on foot or by bike.

• Oedipus (Schaafstraat 21): founded in 2009 by four friends, the brewery with the colourful labels has turned its production site into a hangout, the Craft Space, with a bar, food, a terrace and events; it opens Wednesday to Sunday. The 45-minute guided tour, with three beers to taste, costs €19.95; it runs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 16:00, 17:00 and 18:00 (booking recommended). Next door, at number 19, the Spätkauf is a shop and neighbourhood spot.
• Walhalla (Asterweg 2): this brewery, whose beers are named after Norse mythology (Loki IPA, Njord pale ale), has around fifteen beers on tap, pizzas and a south-facing terrace. Open Wednesday to Friday from 16:00 to midnight, Saturday from 14:00 to midnight and Sunday from 14:00 to 21:00.

Walhalla lies between the Buiksloterweg ferry landing and the former NDSM shipyard: you can combine street art, a waterside terrace and a late-afternoon beer. Our Amsterdam-Noord guide covers the rest of the district.

West and De Pijp: Troost, Two Chefs, Gebrouwen door Vrouwen

Brouwerij Troost has two brewpubs where the beer is brewed on site:

• Troost Westergas (Pazzanistraat 25-27): on the site of the former gasworks, at the edge of Westerpark. Open daily from 11:00, until 3:00 on Friday and Saturday. The brewery tour runs every Saturday at 16:00, by reservation, for €10, tasting included.
• Troost De Pijp (Cornelis Troostplein 21): a neighbourhood brewpub that brews small batches, open from 16:00 on weekdays and from 12:00 at weekends. It fits well into a walk around De Pijp.

Two Chefs, founded in 2012, serves its beers, delivered fresh from its brewery, at the Two Chefs Taproom (Hugo de Grootplein 7), with bar food. It opens from 15:30 on Monday and Thursday, from 11:30 Friday to Sunday, and is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Oud-West, Gebrouwen door Vrouwen ("brewed by women") opened its bar in 2019 after a crowdfunding campaign, at Jan Pieter Heijestraat 119D-h, about ten minutes' walk from De Hallen. All its beers are on tap there; it opens daily from 15:00 (13:00 on Saturday and Sunday). At the nearby Foodhallen, three bars serve more than 60 beers.

East: Poesiat & Kater

Poesiat & Kater (Polderweg 648), a few minutes' walk from Oosterpark, occupies an 1887 building that long served as an animal shelter. Opened in 2017, the brewery revives the Van Vollenhoven beers, an Amsterdam brand whose history goes back to 1733, and is named after two craftsmen of the old brewery, carpenter Bart Poesiat and bricklayer Klaas Kater. The brewing kettles are visible behind a glass wall; six to nine beers are on tap, and there is a large terrace. It is open daily, from lunchtime into the evening.

In the centre: breweries and proeflokalen

The centre has few breweries, but it has the best-stocked beer bars:

• In de Wildeman (Kolksteeg 3): in a former distillery a few minutes from Centraal Station, this bar has 18 rotating draught beers and more than 250 bottles (Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany, USA). Open Monday to Thursday from 12:00 to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 1:00; closed on Sunday.
• Arendsnest (Herengracht 90): a canal-side café that serves only Dutch products, including 52 draught beers and around fifty in bottles or cans. Its house beers come from Poesiat & Kater. Open Sunday to Thursday from 12:00 to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 1:00.
• Brouwerij De Prael (Oudezijds Armsteeg 26): a social-enterprise brewery that employs people who struggle to find work elsewhere, with a tasting room in the oldest part of the city. A tasting of four beers in different styles costs €18. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 to midnight, closed on Monday.
• Bierfabriek (Nes 67): a brewery-restaurant that brews its own beers and serves grilled chicken; some tables have their own self-service tap. Open daily from 15:00 (13:00 on Saturday).

For historic brown cafés and jenever tastings, see our guides what to eat in Amsterdam and Amsterdam at night.

The Heineken Experience, the industrial counterpoint

The Heineken Experience occupies the former brewery on the Stadhouderskade, where Heineken brewed from 1867 to 1988: a self-guided route through the brand's history and industrial brewing, ending with a pils at the bar. A ticket costs €24.95 with one beer (€29.95 with the rooftop), and entry is for over-18s only. Compared with the tours at 't IJ or Troost, it is above all a brand museum, useful for seeing what the craft breweries set out to do differently.

Summary table

Prices as checked in October 2026 on the official websites of the breweries and bars; opening hours may change on public holidays and during private events.

Practical tips

• Age: alcohol is only served to over-18s; carry ID, as it is often requested.
• Drinking outdoors: Amsterdam has 42 zones where drinking alcohol in public is banned, seven of them in the centre (including the Red Light District). There you may not drink or carry an open bottle, can or glass in the street, even on the steps of a house; café terraces are not affected. The simplest option: drink seated on a terrace.
• Payment: many bars and the Bokbierfestival accept cards only. Tipping customs are explained in our guide money, payment and tipping in Amsterdam.
• Alcohol content: tripels, bocks and strong IPAs often exceed 8%; go for 25 cl glasses or tasting flights.
• Opening hours: most neighbourhood breweries only open in the late afternoon and close early in the week. Friday and Saturday afternoons let you combine a guided tour with a terrace.

Further reading

For a whole day built around beer, combine Brouwerij 't IJ with a walk through the nearby Eastern Islands, or spend the afternoon in Noord between Walhalla, Oedipus and the NDSM shipyard. To carry on into the evening, our guide Amsterdam at night presents the areas to go out in, and our guide what to eat in Amsterdam the specialities to order with a beer.