Brouwerij t IJ is a very unique brewery, and a mu...

Brouwerij t IJ is a very unique brewery, and a must-visit while in Amsterdam. I mean, a brewery + windmill within the city? We traveled via a short tram ride, but I would imagine it would be easy to get there by bike as well. Sadly, we only stayed for a beer each, as it was insanely crowded and difficult to get to the bar, much less even think about finding somewhere to sit. We made the mistake of going on a Saturday late afternoon; I would highly recommend trying a weekday shortly after they open for the day. Our visit was pretty disappointing, although I guess now we can say we ve been there.

We tried the Columbus Amber and the Tripel. The beers were both nice and clean, although comparable to plenty of other beers we tried on our trip. The food is allegedly good, but we couldn t even see the counter to order some snacks, much less be able to get to it to order. Apparently, they also have some fun swag, but again, we could barely even get in the door to order a beer.

If we returned to Amsterdam, I would come back early on a weekday, as I am a little sad we didn t get to experience much here. We even tried to go to the brew pub next door afterwards, but they were also pretty full, so we ended up just leaving and going to Brouwerij Homeland, which is within walking distance, has great beers, and serves a full menu of food.