A quick note on Dutch beers

I've had the chance to sample Dutch beers throughout my time in Amsterdam. Two times in particular I dove in in more depth.

One afternoon, with Preeta and Patrik recuperating from jet lag, I had a nice late afternoon canal-side at a beer bar. This bar was fully dedicated to the art of Dutch brewing, and claimed to have beers from every Dutch brewery (except those that did not bottle or had production amounts too small to distribute). It would take a long time to get through the selection. I settled for these two, the first a bitter blond ale and the second a porter. I sadly did not catch the full names of the beers. The blond, in particular, was a perfect sun-starting-to-go-down type of beer, complimenting the canal wonderfully.

The second time came later in the week when I found myself at Brouwerij 't IJ, a local brewer. This place had a fantastic windmill, as you can see. It also had some tasty beer. I went for the Columbus, a tasty wheat beer that deserved to be toasted to the heavens. It was also a great little beer garden, with many folks out in the sunshine enjoying the brews and the company.

Frankly, I've been a bit surprised. I had not heard much of Dutch beers prior to coming to Amsterdam. They are severely overshadowed by their neighbors, the Belgian beers. However, from my brief sampling, they have something to offer. I wouldn't be shocked to see them make a niche run in the States sometime soon.