The Solo Scale:
Tulips, canals, the Red Light District, pot, and Heineken. These are all some of the first things a tourist would rattle off if you asked them what defines Amsterdam. It’s no surprise, then, that Heineken took note of this and leaned into it by offering a tourist experience. The experience is a combination of museum, experience, and bar all in one.
It’s probably not surprising that it’s also incredibly popular.
The Heineken Experience is located right downtown in Amsterdam. You don’t have to love the taste of Heineken to take the experience, but it does help. We’ll get to why that is soon. Currently, the tour goes for just under 25 Euros. Keep in mind that you have to be at least 18 years old for the tour. They don’t exactly check IDs if you’re right on the cusp, but don’t think that you can bring young kids with you because they won’t get in.
At the beginning of your tour, you line up and receive two of these little wood-grain tokens. These are your currency for the free beer at the end of the tour. If you’re thirsty, you don’t have to worry. These two won’t be your only option. Quickly, you’ll also find that there are other people around you that don’t drink and are happy to offload your tickets. If you want to be the lucky recipient, make yourself known as someone who’s more than happy to help out!
Once you head inside, you begin with the history of the tour. You’ll wait in a roped off area until your group is large enough for your guide to take you through. The guide will have a microphone to make it easier to hear. These guides walk you through the history of Heineken while asking you trivia questions along the way.
TRIP TIP: If you want more beer, answer these questions. The guides are super generous with tokens for people who do the call and response with them.
As you progress through the history, you’ll learn about how Heineken came to be, where the iconic bottle came from, and some of the awards its won over the years. When you reach the present day, the tour shifts from looking back into the past and toward how beer in general is made.
For anyone who hasn’t learned about the process, it’s very cool to understand the science behind it while touring the massive boilers and other plant equipment on display.
After that, you go to the Heineken Experience, which is a virtual video style encounter that combines the process of making beer with a little marketing magic. It’s a cute little movie, but it wasn’t a must do. What is fun is that after you leave the experience, you get a free glass of beer (the glasses are small, take note, maybe only 4oz total). This is your final piece on the tour before you head to the bar.
The bar itself was possibly my least favourite part of the experience. It’s basically any bar that you might go to. It’s loud, the floors are sticky, it’s difficult to find a place to sit. For a solo traveller like me, it also got super awkward just hanging around. As a result, though I had a lot of tokens for free beer, I wound up only having one glass (since I’d already had one upstairs after the video).
Once you finish with the bar, there’s only one thing left — the gift shop. There are multiple opportunities to order souvenirs along the tour. Or, you can purchase something, however the prices are quite high. I wouldn’t recommend anything from the shop. In all, I enjoyed the experience as it blended history, experience, and beer together. Could it have been a little better? Sure. I still think the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin was a better overall experience, but as someone who likes to indulge in beer from time to time, this was a great stop.
If you think it’s something for you too, check out their website for more information and to buy your tickets!
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