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Beer in Amsterdam: Arendsnest

There are many terrific places to drink beer in Amsterdam, and I was barely there long enough to sample very many of them, but one of the ones that really stood out was Arendsnest.  This is a beer ‘bar’  (they’re called cafes in Amsterdam) on a quiet street specializing in Dutch beers.  As of this posting Google maps is suggesting it’s closed, but I promise that’s not the case.

 

Arendsnest has quite a selection of beers written on chalkboards on the walls.  It seemed they had a decent bottle selection as well, and some of them looked liked they might be extremely local, sporting simple white paper labels that looked like the product of a small outfit, but alas there was no bottle list.

 

Now, it would’ve been helpful to have some styles listed next to the beers.  I’ve taken for granted how much I know about US beer sometimes, and being able to recognize beers and styles.  In Amsterdam I was barely able to pronounce most of the beers on this beer list.  I had three.

 

First I had an Ongelovige Thomas by Jopen.  It looks like that means Pagan, or unbeliever.  It’s listed as an American Strong Ale and at 10% ABV.  It struck me by the way it was listed as a limited release type beer, so I selected it.  It was good but not great, a little too strong on that intense alcohol taste for me.

 

For my second beer I selected an Xtreem Centennial by Bierbrouwerij De Eeem.  Much like I did at Brouwerij ‘t IJ I was drawn in by the hops name that I recognized.  This one was clearly an IPA.  This was probably the best beer I had in Amsterdam, although I’m clearly partial to India Pale Ales.  It had just the right amount of spicy bitterness and was a very well executed beer.

 

Shortly after I ordered that one, the guy next to me asked the bartender for advice and he happened to mention a rye ale.  I tend to really like rye beers, so I resolved to get a third beer, and for it to be the Den Dorstige Tijger by Ramses Bier.  It’s a cool name for a beer anyway, which translates to the thirsty tiger.  Of course, both untappd and ratebeer list it as an IPA, with no mention of rye so I must’ve have misunderstood.  I was particularly disappointed by this one anyway, which tasted pretty watery and weak to me with a sort of blah bitterness to it.

 

So that was Arendsnest, a very cool cafe in Amsterdam specializing in local beers.  In retrospect I could’ve chosen a better subset of beers, but I’m still glad to have checked the place out and recommend it for any beer fans heading to The Netherlands.

 

October 9th, 2012 by Ceetar in Beer, travel, Uncategorized
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