Pilot
La Trappe Brouwerie, KonigshavenThis is the brewery within the grounds of the monastery.
There are only 8 true Trappist monk breweries in the world - 7 in Belguim and this one in Holland. To Qualify the brewery must be run by the monks and must be within the walls of the monastery. Also 50% of all profits must go to good causes - In the case of La Trappe they run Monasteries in Indonesia and Uganda |
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The Brewery Tap. or tasting room is modelled on a Schaapskooie - a sheep pen where the first beers were brewed in 1884 by the Friar Isidor They currently brew 8 different beers ranging from an organic Witte beer at 5% up to an oak aged Quadrupel at 10% - All very nice indeed but makes for a heavy afternoons imbibing
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The Jopenkirk Brouwerei, Haarlem, HollandThis brewery is in a Converted church -very modern style inside but absolutely amazing to see the size of the brewing sytem which takes up all one side of the building behind the bar
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The Boterwaag cafe, Den Haag (The Hague) It's a 17th century building which has recently been beautifully restored and converted into a pub. Boter Waag translates as 'Butter Weighing-house' which is a pretty good description of its original function and a pair of giant scales has been left as a reminder.
The rather spartan interior makes excellent use of the original brickwork and the soaring vaulted ceiling. The space is quite cavernous, but with good reason as the building was constructed this way. |
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De Pelgrim Brouwerie, DelftshavenThe building in which the Pelgrim brewpub is housed was built in 1580 and used to serve as the town hall when Delfshaven was a town in its own right. The conversion to pub has been carried out with a good deal of sensitivity, leaving many original features, such as the beamed ceiling, A simple wooden bar takes up most of one of the side walls and the rest of the furniture are in a similar restrained style
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De Oude Sluis, DelftsHavenBuilt in 1912 (as a pub), it was owned by members of the De Nijs family until 1976.
Standing on the harbour you get a spectacular view of the back room of this pub, which hangs out precariously over the water. It's a bit like a giant version of the toilets you see stuck on the outside of medieaval buildings. The more secure, land-rooted section of the pub is rather oddly arranged, with a couple of small half rooms loitering around next to each other. But the most impressive feature is the wall carvings, depicting scenes of 17th century drunkenness and debauchery. Now why aren't pubs like that any more? The interior is very unusual for a Dutch café and I can't think of a similar one. The random collections of old junk on the walls, the peeling nicotine-stained paint - this is a very genuine café of the darkest shade of brown |
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Texels BierBrouwerie, Texel IslandOn one of the Friesian Islands North Holland - on the North Sea - Quite a hike to get here, by train, ferry, and bus but well worth the effort.
Not surprisingly having spent all that time getting there (and nothing else around but fields full of sheep, sand dunes, and squally wet weather we then sat down to Quaff the full range of beers available!! Having tried the samplers seen below we just HAD to consume them in much larger glasses as well ! Lovely evocative names such as SkumKoppe and Donker Wit 
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Het BrouwCafe, ScheveningenAnother awayday - train to Den Haag and then tram to Scheveningen (The historical buffs will recognise the place from European political history)
This is a modern open-plan pub with a view over Scheveningen harbour. The brewing equipment, tucked away in one corner, is a mixture of modernistic, efficient stainless steel and romantic copper. A fairly good selection of beer memorabilia, including lots from Den Haag's defunct ZHB brewery, is the main decorative element 
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De Zwarte Ruiter, Den HaagLovely Art Deco Cafe close by to the Boterwaag (listed Above) with good selection of beers.
I nearly spilt my beer as i took the photo of mein Bruder as i was convinced he was contemplating pissing on the head of the poor guy below him 
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De Paas, Den HaagDe Paas is a quiet, long, slender specialist beer pub with undoubtably the best selection of beer i've seen in a long time. The "wall of beer" seen below gives you a very mouth watering( drooling more like) idea of what will be on the beer menu.
Its late opening time and its handy position on the way back to the station, make it a good last stop if you've made a day trip to the city. Trouble was we'd already had a LONG day in the Het, Boterwaag, and Swarte Ruiter and it was ONLY 5.00 pm The pictures tell a thousand words - simply summed up - pished 
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Die DrieRingen BierBrouwerij, AmersfoortA lovely light airy brewery tap right on the canalside just a short walk away from the main square
3 Beers on tap and 2 in bottle 
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Ledig Erfe, UtrechtLedig Erf is a cosy corner pub in a building dating from around 1900. The setting is wonderful; where the Oude Gracht meets the city's former defensive moat, Singel - A short walk down the canal from the city centre well worth the walk.
A good selection of beers in a typycal 'brown' cafe 
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Cafe Belgie, UtrechtA specialist beer bar on the canalside
The menu, as you can see, is extensive Dark, dingy, small & narrow inside but well worth the visit 
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In Den Uiver, HaarlemLovely eclectic bar, bizarrely decorated inside with aviation parephenalia - bizarre in the fact that from outside it depicts itself as Vischhandel - fish shop - is what it says on the art-deco facade of this pub, but don't believe a word of it. Once inside there is an odd, rambling pub with an interior which looks at least a couple of centuries older than the 1905 date embossed in stone outside.
At the very back is an odd room, lit only by a coloured skylight, which looks like the private sitting room of a sea captain. An incredible atmosphere, which should not be missed, The bar is just a counter with the fonts on a marble plinth behind 
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