A Peek into the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam

On my recent trip to Amsterdam I took the Heineken Experience tour. In all fairness, I’m not much of a beer drinker. But I still wanted to check out the highly rated experience because it’s Heineken! Plus the Scotch Whiskey Experience in Edinburgh was quite a bit of fun.

What Heineken says to expect on the tour:

“The Heineken Experience is a self guided interactive journey through the world of Heineken(R). You can discover the history of the company, the 4 natural ingredients of our beer, the brewing process, a tasting room and the Heineken(R) brand. At the end of the tour you can enjoy 2 Heinekens(R) or learn how to draught the perfect Heineken(R).”

Admissions

The admission fee is €18 per adult. You can save a few dollars by purchasing your tickets online.

We decided to visit at the last minute so we didn’t purchase advance tickets. The wait was about 10-15 minutes. The lines were orderly, and the staff did a light inspection of bags. At the beginning of the self-guided tour, you are given green wristband. It features two peel-able buttons that could be redeemed for two beers at the end of the tour.

Where It Began

a bottle of beer in a wooden box — One of the first Heineken bottles.

a bottle of beer on a glass shelf — A later rendition of the Heineken bottle.

a wall with a sign on it — Visual display of the brewing process.

a large room with large copper tanks and large windows — A peek inside the brewing facility.

a group of metal containers with different grains — The four ingredients used to craft beer.

The bottling process

During the tour we saw a close up look at the bottling process. The bottles hustled through the bottling machine right before our eyes. If you’re so inclined, you can buy a personalized Heineken beer bottle as a souvenir.

a group of bottles in a glass case — Bottling machines.

a row of green bottles in a glass case — Close up of the bottling process.

The “Brew You” Experience

We waited in line for this highly anticipated experience. Frankly, I’d much rather not re-live it. In particular, there was one part where we had to sit through the Heineken “experience” (places where people would drink the Heineken beer). The club music / bouncy beats was loud and the flashy visual display was cheesy and dizzying.

Maybe it fits some people’s definition of fun, but I couldn’t wait to bounce myself out of there. It’s kind of funny now, but at the time, it was almost enough to trigger a massive headache.

a white wall with a screen on it — The “Brew You” Experience.

Fortunately, as a reward for putting you through that traumatic experience, you are offered a glass of Heineken at the end. And that’s in addition to the two glasses you get by redeeming the buttons on your wristband!

a person holding a glass of beer — Glass of Heineken.

In Summary

In terms of actual experience, I prefer the Scotch Whiskey Experience over the Heineken Experience, even though I like the taste of beers over scotch. Personally, this attraction isn’t really for me. If I am short on time, I wouldn’t pick this attraction over others, especially given that there are so many cultural things to do in Amsterdam.

If you enjoy beers and have an afternoon to kill, this might be be a good experience to have with friends. Alternatively, you could just go to a bar, grab some real food and pair it with a Heineken.

Have you visited the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam? What’s been your experience?

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