Amsterdam

[P-Train]

I had a chance to go to Amsterdam in spring of 2001.

The beers there are absolutely fantastic.

The Heineken Brewery was closed for some reason so that was a bummer but there were so many places to enjoy a good beer it didn't matter.

The alcohol content in their beers really varies on the beer of course but for the most part it was probably double most American beer.

The Guinness over there is NOT like the Guinness here. It's more heavy and chocolaty. Much better.

Much, much better.

Many people drank Heineken on their lunch breaks like it was a cola. It's better and safer than the water and if your body is not acclimated to their water system. It seemed like many just drank it for the hell of it, not to get a buzz but just for …I dunno know. Just the way it is…

I spent about two weeks there and of course drank every day. Hey, when in Rome…

One beer I had there was Gauloises, a blond beer. I’d have to do some digging around to see what else I drank.

If you ever get a chance to go by all means go. You will not regret it. Beautiful 800 year old city with beautiful people and a rich culture.

These people know how to make good beer.

[noby]

Uhm, don't mean to nit-pick, P-train. But isn't Amsterdam in Holland, not Belgium.

[P-Train]

Ahh shucks...whose counting a few miles?

:)

[noby]

Probably the Dutch, and the Belgians.
But anyway, it is a lovely city, with loads to see and do, besides the beer.

[L.H.H.H.Brown]

Yes, and I feel the Dutch in Amsterdam are a litle bit more " liberal ". As for the brews, I went to the brewery t'ij. Had a blast.

[Stahlsturm]

Most dutch I know consider Belgium an artifical country that was created because they had a spare king after the Napoleonic Wars and no throne to put him in. So they chopped Flanders off Holland and combined it with a bunch of french and called it Belgium.

I´m no expert on belgian brewers but it seems that almost all breweries are in the dutch part as well, aren´t they ?

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by L.H.H.H.Brown
Yes, and I feel the Dutch in Amsterdam are a litle bit more " liberal ".

Hmmmmm........Just what do you mean by that?.... :D

[Bud Lang]

Some years ago I spent a week in Brussells and a few nearby communities visiting breweries. One in particular was unique (to an American) because it featuring giant vats, maybe 20 feet across and 4 feet deep. Each was filled with fermenting beer and open on top so wild yeast would blow in and settle on top of the liquid. It tooks weeks before the batch was ready for bottling (and filtering). Of all the beers I consumed, none were bad. All had a rich flavor and aroma. Naturally, I brought a few cases home with me.

[chazwicke]

Welcome to the board Bud. Which lambic brewery was that? I enjoy some of the Krieks and Gueuzes.

[Otis_The_Drunk]

I'm wondering why you didn't take the opportunity to visit some of the Coffee Shops while you were in Amsterdam?

Dampkring is a good one, and yes they also serve alcohol.

[Bud Lang]

When I made my trip to Belgium, I was the Editor of All About Beer magazine. I was in the publishing game for more than 40 years, until I retired a few years ago. I have boxes and boxes filled with magazines that I Edited, and sure as heck, I can't find my copies of AAB. I do have a collection of glasses and mugs, as well as many bottles of beer. Some of the glasses I still have are: Erlanger, Mort Subite, Dentergems, Rodenbach, Gouden Carolus, Leffe, Palm, Lucifer, Affligem, Maes, Bios, Kwak, and Vondel. Also have one glass embalzoned with "1986 Year of the Beer" (in Belgian (Flemish? - it sure ain't French). I visited all or most of the breweries that produced the beers above. When I first arrived in Brussells, I had lunch in a local restaurant and my guide suggested I try a popular sandwich. Forget its name now, but it is raw ground round, seasoned well, on bread. Tasted good. Visited many bars in Belgium (a pub crawl, if you like), and unlike American bars, these places are like art museums or high class restaurants. One doesn't go there just to drink. I'll find my copies of AAB, then will attempt to answer your question.

[Bud Lang]

Otis,
Darn! I didn't go to Amsterdam. Isn't that in Holland? Coffee shops? I don't drink coffee, simply because it makes me forget which country I'm in. Bud

[chazwicke]

Bud, Did you work at AAB with the Bradfords or was it before them? I think AAB is a decent magazine. I used to really like the Malt advocate best but it is now mainly focused on whiskeys.

[Bud Lang]

Chaz,
AAB started life as a newspaper, given to stores that sold beer. It became a magazine which a company I joined began publishing it. Believe I was the 2nd Editor. Michael Jackson had a regular column in it and a number of other guys contributed. We ran a number of articles on home brewing, cooking with beer (which is really great), and I visited a few breweries. We also featured articles on collectors, etc. We couldn't bring in enough advertising to make it pay off, so one of the original creators (of the newspaper) took it over then sold it to the folks back east. I have Edited a wide variety of magazines over the years, but working on AAB was a great time in my life. I quickly learned that American beers are nothing compared to many of the imports. While I was with AAB Coors introduced a Christmas brew which was a lot better than their regular beers IMHO. Believe they brewed it for a couple of holiday seasons. Because the average American just guzzles beer down, and drinks from the bottle instead of using a glass or mug, and American beers all taste the same, I believe Coors holiday brew didn't make it. Again, MHO.

[chazwicke]

I've been buying the Mag since the early 90s and have had a subscription for a long time. I have some earlier copies that I picked up here and there before that. Some of which are in the newspaper format.

[Bud Lang]

Regarding any magazine, check on the Table of Contents pages and you'll discover both who the Editor is/was and who the publisher is/was. If you happen to have a copy wherein I was the Editor, you'll discover some of the stories I wrote. I say some, because I wrote so many I sometimes used a penname. I may have mentioned, I moved to Oregon a couple of months ago, and many of my magazines are still in boxes. When I find them, I'll let you know the answer to some of your earlier questions.

If you haven't had food that was cooked in good beer, you have to try it. Ir's excellent.

Reminds me of something. One of our German readers sent me a cartoon of a German beer plant with a tanker out front, both labeled "Chemi-Beer". The reference was to a so-called World Court decision that German importers had to allow American Budweiser beer (you know there is a Czech beer named Budweiser - that is much older) to be imported into Germany. It was turned down by German importers because all American beers contain preservatives. They have to because by the time they are shipped many hundreds of miles, sit in a wherehouse for maybe weeks, then sit in the storage room of a store, then sit on the floor, then finally get sold, the stuff would be old and sour. German beers do NOT have preservatives in them. They are sold locally and consumed quickly. Can't speak for their beers that are exported, though. That's enough, got to git.

[spencer]

Originally posted by P-Train
I had a chance to go to Amsterdam in spring of 2001.


The Guinness over there is NOT like the Guinness here. It's more heavy and chocolaty. Much better.

Much, much better.

You can say that again… well I guess you did.

I was fortunate enough to do my study-abroad during my MBA in Edinburgh, Scotland; I was also fortunate enough to spend a week in Ireland during that time. The Guinness there is nothing like the Guinness in the US. Don’t get me wrong, the small, locally-owned pubs add to the experience; however we’re not dealing with the same Guinness in the US.

The folks on this page are the exception, but this experience really showed me that we, as Americans, still look to Europeans for “the nod” on good beer. Guinness is popular in Europe because it tastes really damn good in Europe; the Guinness here tastes like crap, but folks order it because it’s cool (per our friends on the other side of the pond). I don’t drink it here, and – honestly – I would not have tried it there if it weren’t for the novelty of drinking a Guinness in Ireland. I’m glad I did because I fell in love with it & drank is almost exclusively during my entire trip to the UK.

I figured my tastes had changed since I was first introduces to Guinness, so I ordered it a few times here in the States after I returned. That was a mistake; the Guinness here still tasted chalky & thin.

Sorry for the babble, but the Guinness doesn’t just taste better in the UK, it tastes great. The Guinness here may look like the Guinness there, but it isn’t the same product; simply it doesn’t taste good (to me).

[P-Train]

I'll agree Spencer.

The Guinness I had in A-Dam was far better than the states.

Major difference!

In fact, it's shameful.

[Bud Lang]

I believe you'll agree that ALL foreign beers imported into the U.S. contain preservatives, necessary to protect the beer from becoming sour or stale after it is shipped so far and kept in storage, etc., before it is finally consumed. These preservatives destroy the natural flavor of the beer. When I flew back from Belgium I carried a half-dozen bottles in a briefcase, and shipped a few small cases of beer as part of my luggage. They made it from Belgium to NY then on to LA, where one of the baggage handlers noted I had printed "fragile, glass" on the boxes, so he naturally dropped them, breaking a few bottles. I enjoyed the rest though. In closing, German brewers agreed way back in the 1600s, I believe, that German beers would contain nothing but water, malt (or wheat), hops and yeast. Forget the name of that agreement, but it was sort of a purity thing.

[Herb Ninja]

Originally posted by Bud Lang
When I flew back from Belgium I carried a half-dozen bottles in a briefcase, and shipped a few small cases of beer as part of my luggage. They made it from Belgium to NY then on to LA, where one of the baggage handlers noted I had printed "fragile, glass" on the boxes, so he naturally dropped them, breaking a few bottles.

Baggage handlers are known as "throwers" to quote the movie 'Fight Club.'

"Throwers don't concern themselves with ticking because modern bombs don't tick"

"I'm sorry....throwers?"

"Baggage handlers."

Sucks that they broke your bottles, I guess its good that they didn't break all of them. Peace, HN-