Holland’s own beer offers a fun and educational experience by Jordan La

            I went to the Heineken Experience at Amsterdam in late September, and I am really glad I went because it was definitely worthwhile. My parents love the beer so I wanted to go and tell them about it, but after that experience, I became a huge fan of Heineken as well. When we were buying tickets, employees presented a wristband with two buttons on it, and each of them represents a free drink. This was definitely a good first impression, as I was not expecting either free Heineken or a nice wristband to take home.

            The venue as a whole was perfect, as it provided audiences with a perfect combination of a factory atmosphere and a tourist one. After a walkthrough about a bit of Heineken’s history with some artifacts, we were presented with a room of ingredients. These ingredients were: water, barley, hops, and yeast. Not only could we see these ingredients in the large structures holding them, an employee also had bowls of them on a table so audience members could have a closer look. She also provided us with a brief lecture to better our understanding about the processes that go on to produce this tremendous beer. My favorite part of this experience was the Universal Studios-like experience that we got in one of the rooms. It wasn’t an amusing park roller coaster, but it was just as entertaining and definitely unexpected. It was a dark room with a standing platform with levels on it, and I thought we were just watching something. Then the host on the screen said we were to become the ingredients that produce Heineken. We started off as barley that gets malted (soaked), so there were bubbles that came down from the ceiling. Then we started going through the factory as if we were actually barley. Here is the best part, every time there was a sudden movement, the stage would actually vibrate and shake. We were standing on platforms that moved us! There were parts where we were escalated a bit, so that was fun experience for the audience. When the barley needed to be heated, heating lamps were shined down on us. Who knew a small theatre room could do so much!

Bubbles coming down during our "malting" process.

            The factory experience was quite informative. We were able to “help the brewer” by grinding some nuts with a large grinder.  We were also able to taste Wort (water and barley, after being heated and filtered), the result tasted interesting (but bland). It tasted like beer, but with no taste. We were able to “bottle” our own bottle of beer through one of their machines, which basically meant that you could put your name on a label (bottled by: before your name) and then it would be stuck onto a beer. I bought one because I thought it was worth it (5 euros) to have a bottle of beer with my name on it. 

 

            Throughout the whole journey of the place there were large screens and little structures (like small cars) that your could sit in (with a screen) that informed you about many aspects of Heineken. Finally, at the end of the tour, we finally got to taste Heineken. First, we were presented with a complimentary half pint as an employee taught us how to drink Heineken. We were supposed to tilt your cup a certain way so that you do not drink all the foam first. Then we arrived at the World Bar where we could get our two free beers that were on our wristbands. However, you could use one of your buttons to do the Draught Challenge, and if you could draft the perfect beer like the bartender does it, you would win a prize. This atmosphere was amazing; it felt like I was at a bar/nightclub. I actually ran into a couple of my friends from the London program there, and we all had an awesome time drinking beer. Lastly, we arrived at the gift shop like many tours; that is where I got my bottled beer with my name on it.

            The Amsterdam Heineken Experience provided an amazing atmosphere for a tourist and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who goes to Amsterdam. They provided a perfect mix of free souvenirs (and souvenirs in general) fun experiences (moving platforms), and miscellaneous Heineken information. On top of all of that, there was the beer that they provided, which was awesome! I was pleasantly surprised so many times and that was what made my experience there so entertaining and worthwhile. My expectations were not even low before going to this tremendous experience, but the Heineken experience completely exceeded my expectations.