Brouwerij 't IJ - the brewery and tap

Situated right underneath a windmill in old Amsterdam, a short bus ride from Centraal Station (no. 22 - ask for the windmill), Brouwerij 't IJ is a Dutch microbrewery with a picture-postcard location. 'Micro' is a good descriptor: its brewing capacity is a mere 2000 litres and it does not export - the brewery is unable even to supply local demand. However, despite its small size and output, it has a remarkably large and loyal following among beer afficionados all over the world. Why? Because of its beers, that's why.

Brouwerij 't IJ produces a handful of beers the year round, along with various seasonal ales. Their standard beer is a pilsner and is called Plzen. They also produce various strong ales more or less in the abbey style: the easily classified ones are called Natte (a dubbel) and Zatte (a tripel). They also produce special beers called Columbus and Struis, and a beer brewed expressly for a specialist Amsterdam beer shop (De Bierkoning) called Vlo, although we managed to find this on draught elsewhere. Seasonal beers include Tur Bock, which was available on draught at the brewey tap during our November visit.

The brewery tap has rather short opening hours - from 3 to 8 pm on most days - and brewery tours are only run on Fridays. It is a small, friendly and busy place, with tables and long benches to sit on, yellowing walls and minimal decor, consisting of a few antique notices and posters (including one of an ostrich - the brewery logo) - oh, and there is an ancient but staggeringly impressive bottle collection covering most of the walls. As well as the beers, they provide bar snacks: eggs, cheese and salami. The cheese and salami (served with pepper) are well worth a few guilders, as they complement the stronger beers beautifully. However, the brewery tap is worth the visit just for the opportunity to sample a few different draught beers, which are otherwise very hard to come by.

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