Located in Amsterdam, the Heineken Experience is one of the Netherlands’ number one hotspots for travellers. Heineken is run and managed by the original founding family, owning more than 165 breweries in over 60+ countries worldwide, and its portfolio includes more than 300 beer brands.
This experience is a self-guided interactive tour through the world and history of Heineken. You can discover how beer is actually prepared (with its 4 natural ingredients) and also experience freshly brewed beer in the tasting room. At the end of the tour, you will even learn how to take a perfect sip!
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The Heineken Experience lasts for a few hours, and there are four types of tours offered. I took the most popular one, which is a basic self-guided tour and took about 2 hours to finish. The tickets are between 18 – 22 Euros. I recommend you book your tickets online and well in advance to avoid the long queues. All the presentations and information you’ll see through the wall ways are in English, but they have an app for you to download the information in other languages – Dutch, French, German, Spanish and so on.
The Heineken History
This experiential tour spans across numerous wall ways and floors which are well divided into thematic sections highlighting the company’s heritage, history, logos, brewing process, innovations, accomplishments and achievements which are quite related to the sports sector. This place is a fusion of a museum, combined with a traditional brewing experience and a high-tech theme park. At this experience, you can also find yourself getting involved with some interactive games, touchscreens and be part of many photo opportunities such as special effects-laden selfie booths.
The Brewing Process
This section showcases the ingredients involved in brewing a glass of beer. Beer is made out of four ingredients – hops, malted barley, yeast and water. (as shown in the picture). After this, the next room took me to a section where all the ingredients are mixed and brewed – basically the brewhouse, which is home to Heineken’s first four copper boilers. Here, I learnt about the brewing process and also got an opportunity to taste the wort – the liquid which is extracted from the grains during the mash process.
The Bottling Process
During the tour, I got a great close up look at the bottling process. I noticed how the bottles were hustled through the bottling machine. This was very interesting, and I also got a personalized Heineken beer bottle as a souvenir.
Quite a fun experience; if you’re a beer lover, this is a must-visit for you.
