Annual Beer Education (no really) Trip

Its been a while since we have had a blog post, and what better way to start back than to recount our trip to Europe. Some of you may remember that we take an occasional beer education trip to meet our suppliers and learn a little more about the world of beer.



We started with connections through Minneapolis and landed in Amsterdam around 10:30 AM, more or less well rested. A quick shower at the hotel and we set off to explore our new surroundings. Enough exploration, we found the Vildeman or Wildman bar. They had some great beer choices, so it seemed as good as place as any to stop. Very friendly bar tender who spent a good bit of time talking beer with us. Most of us started with La Trappe Dubbel but Ron, of course, had the Girardin Kriek. They also had a good bit of American beer and we were happy to see tap handles for Flying Dog In Heat Wheat, Left Hand Juju Ginger and Great Divide Titan.

We had a nice trip through the Heineken Experience and a soothing boat tour, although warm Amstels might not have been the best choice. Afterwards we had a casual dinner and some of us (mostly me) called it an early night.

Up bright and early on Day 2 for a trip to the Heineken Brewery in Rotterdam...okay, its not in Rotterdam, but thats where we ended up due to some faulty information. Once we got there we got a World Class (pun intended) tour including the Heinken Oud Bruin, which, sadly, we do not get in the states. We made it back to Amsterdam for some bar hopping...especially Arendsnest where they serve nothing but Dutch beer, although, the owner is opening a new bar in September which will feature nothing but American Craft beer. With a little luck, Ron could be a superstar at that bar.

After Joe lost his Vin de Cereale at the airport...a long and very sad story...we got on a plane for the Czech Republic. More details to follow on this leg of the trip.

On day 2 we were off to the He