As I said in the last post, one of the main aspects of Amsterdam was beer! Its the birthplace of one of the very famous brands Heineken and there's where is their prime brewery.
At the very entrance is this cart filled with beer caskets.. well... an installation! No bags or coats are allowed inside and there's a cloak room to take care of it all. At the beginning is a nice big throne - all made of Heineken caskets!!! Then there were the 15 Silos, one of which was open to see, which was about 20m tall and was used to store malted barley!
Beyond this were the vintage ads of Heineken and its old packaging etc. Then were a series of rooms that explain about its founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken since 1864. However it was his son, Dr.Henry Pierre Heineken, who took it to great heights. He was more of a chemist & researcher who wanted to find the perfect recipe and brew to make the best beer possible. He was also particular in maintained standards so that the taste continues to be maintained and stay the same batch after batch, year after year, thereby facilitating large scale production.
The recipe includes 95% water. The water, obviously tastes different, in various parts of the world in thereby in the various breweries. To maintain the uniform taste, its purified to perfection. Apart from water the 3 ingredients that go in are barley, hops and yeast. Barley is slightly roasted which gives the beer a light color.
The starch in the barley when boiled with water, gives a slightly sweet taste. Then added in are hops. Finally yeast is added and let to ferment for 28 days in controlled temperature and humidity which finally yields the beer.
In earlier days, before the advent of present transport systems, obviously horse carriages were used to transport it to various parts of the country. Till date the brewery has a horse stable with horses that are used for promotional purposes.
There is a small 4D movie (or is it?!) experience where the entire brewing process is explained with heat, cold, vibrations & water bubbles etc that recreate the atmosphere through which the barley, hops & water pass through before it becomes beer, Unfortunately it isn't 3D. Neither is the screen a surround screen, not even a semi circular curved screen. After watching such experiences in London Eye& Marvel at Madame Tusssauds, this kinda fell flat!
If you want to taste beer you can and you're also taught the right way of tasting it! Did you know, the frothing on the top actually protects the taste of the beer within. The frothing tastes of hops which is why its bitter! The right way to drink it would be to hold the bottle/glass almost horizontal so the frothing goes atop and the liquid beneath (sweet, fermented barley part without hops) is consumed!!!
Then comes the entire fun part - DJ section, cycling section, Rugby section, football section and dancing section which are activated by motion sensors!!! Best part is the cycling, football etc can be captured (similar to green screen photo) and mailed to you by yourself and there's no extra payment for it!!! Esp kids love this part... Well, my inner child came out!
Here's an info: Yes, the place is open to children also. However anyone below 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Children will not be provided with alcoholic beverages but with soft drinks!
P.S: Check out here to know what I wore to the trip
To Get There:
P.S.2: I was invited by Heineken to experience the Brewery for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
P.S.3: Heineken beer is an alcoholic beverage. You must be of legal drinking age to consume it, as stated by your country. Excessive drinking is injurious to health. Drinking & Driving can be lethal.
Dedicated to Venkat