Craft Beer Revolution: Beyond Heineken

From centuries-old Trappists to cutting-edge microbreweries

The Netherlands has exactly one Trappist brewery — La Trappe, in the monastery of Koningshoeven near Tilburg — but compensates with an astonishing density of craft operations. At last count, over 800 breweries were operating in a country smaller than Yorkshire. Amsterdam alone has more than fifty, and new ones open monthly.

The revolution began in the 1980s, when microbreweries started challenging Heineken’s monopoly. Today, Dutch craft beer ranges from traditional styles (dubbels, tripels, witbieren) to experimental extremes — sour beers aged in wine barrels, imperial stouts with locally foraged ingredients, wild fermentations that taste like nothing else on earth.

In Amsterdam, the essential stops include Brouwerij ‘t IJ, which brews beneath a preserved windmill and serves organic beers on a terrace packed with locals every sunny afternoon. Oedipus, in Noord, operates from an industrial space with a tap room that attracts design-conscious crowds. De Prael employs people with mental health challenges and makes excellent traditional Dutch beers.

Rotterdam’s scene is equally vibrant. Kaapse Brouwers, in the Fenix Food Factory, focuses on Belgian-influenced styles; Noordt Brewing brings Germanic precision to their lagers and wheat beers. The city’s beer bars — De Pelgrim, Locus Publicus, Bier Boutique — stock hundreds of varieties from across the country and beyond.

For the pilgrimage option, visit La Trappe at Koningshoeven. The monastery, founded in 1881, welcomes visitors for guided tours that end in the tap room — one of the only places in the world where you can drink Trappist beer within sight of the monks who made it. The Quadrupel, aged in oak, is worth the journey alone.