Bokbier Festival 2007

2 more weeks and we all have to go to the 30th Bobkier Festival in Amsterdam. Are you going too?
All the information about this great place on www.pint.nl

Mentos & Beer

Oud West - l'Affiche

After El Punto Latino I decided to drink another beer on my way home. I've been in l'Affiche on the Jacob van Lennepstraat before but couldn't really remember anything about it cuz I was sitting on their terrace in the sun back then. This time I decided to sit at the bar and just have a chat. I walked in and noticed the good music and that everything was made of wood. Wood bar, stools, six tables or so and lots of posters on the wall (hence the name of the bar).
I drank a Brand beer (€2,00) and found out that they've also got La Chouffe, Wittenkerke, Zatte from the IJ brewery and a beer I'd never heard of before: Lousberg... I bought the bottle (€3,00) and it's in my fridge now waiting for me to be opened. This is a nice place to relax and just have a chat... Go there after a hectic night out, just for a nightcap.

Center - El Punto Latino

Last night I had my second "borrel" in two and half weeks working for my new job. This time because our department existed 2 years with great success. All of us were supposed to meet at El Punto Latino on the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in the center of town for Salsa lessons. Luckily this wasn't the case and everyone was just following this Latino guy on the dance floor.
I didn't really join in because dancing is not my thing. Instead I just spoke to some colleagues and stood at the bar. We got 3 drinks for free. The beer we were drinking was called Salitos and if you want to buy a bottle, you have to spend €4,00, ouch!
The only other beer they had was bottled Heineken. Wouldn't have a clue what the price of that was though. All in all, a very loud, red painted bar with a dance floor and expensive beer where, I assume, there are huge crowds of young drunk people in the weekends... Mwoa...

Another really tiny update

So after I mentioned the Okura hotel a couple of weeks ago I now have found an even more expensive beer. Seriously... What are these people thinking... Here we go:

Café Vrijburcht on the J.O. Vaillantlaan in IJburg sell beer for €2,00.
Bar Babou in Hotel the Dylan on the Keizersgracht sells it for €3,50.
The Grand on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal sells it for €3,50 as well.
Then there is the Amstel Bar on the Professor Tulpplein: beer, €3,75.
The Pulitzerbar on the Prinsengracht has it for €3,00 and so does the College Hotel on the Roelof Hartstraat.... Top of (not my) bill is Hotel Hilton on the Apollolaan, with a Whopping, ridiculous €5,00!!!!! That's $7,25... That's 11! former Dutch guilders. DON'T GO THERE!!!

A tiny update

Just a little update with beerprices:
Waldorf - Elandsgracht - Beer €2,00
Bep - Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal - Beer €2,20
De Nieuwe Anita - Frederik Hendrikstraat - Beer €1,80
Pakhuis Wilhelmina - Veemkade - Beer €2,00
Studio 80 - Rembrandtplein - Beer €2,20
Flexbar - Polonceaukade - Beer €1,80
11 - Oosterdokskade - Beer €2,50 (How dare they!!!)

Défilé

So... Défilé... During the day it looks like a big lunchroom and at night it still does... The only good thing about this place is their rotating bar. Beer goes for €2,10 and it's Warsteiner.. People who go there probably all work at the World Fashion Centre, cuz there are a lot of "suits". They got Heineken, Amstel Malt, Wieckse Witte, Duvel, Palm, Corona, Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel in bottles but that definitely does not make this a good place... Not impressed, better start looking for a better bar in the same neighborhood.... If I had to rate this place I'd give it a 4 out of 10! Crap!

A new job!

I've got a new job! Excellent! Great! Brilliant! Magnificent! Started on Monday and what a huge difference already, people basically welcomed me with open arms. Smiles, handshakes, 12 floors of it! I get to fly anywhere in the world for free, I'm gonna get a very cheap but brand new bike, in 3 weeks I'll have to go to Paris for a look in our buildings over there (all paid for of course), I can't wait! And you know what the best thing is for you?
It's in a totally different area of Amsterdam so I'm sure there'll be some brandnew bar reviews coming up soon starting with the bar I'll go to on Friday, Défilé. The first party at my new working place... And I've got another 2 parties coming up :)

Treffers

So... I went to Treffers tonight. They used to be called Trefpunt and they used to be on a different corner. Now they are on the corner of the Admiraal de Ruyterweg and the Willem de Zwijgerlaan. They are good. They've got a proper covered patio and 3 beers on tap. Heineken, Wieckse Witte and Wisseltap. Now I was confused about wisseltap because I thought it was an actual beer... It isn't an actual beer but it's a tap they've got open for a different monthly beer... They don't use it though... What a waste...
Music there is fine... 70's and Andre Hazes.... They show football on big screens... Nice people and prices are not too bad.... Thats all I've got to say about this place. Vaasje? € 2.00....

Heineken Cider ?

What's this then? Apparently Heineken is going to introduce Heineken Cider from tap in 17 bars in Amsterdam. Does anyone know where? Heineken calls it a female drink and the perfect alternative for lager and wine. It will have 5% alcohol and it will be called Charli. They hope to introduce it everywhere in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2008. Mmm, I'm very curious to see what this tastes like.

BEER!

From €1,00 to €4,90

I've got a new update ready for you people. Beers range from €1,00 in several places to a disgusting €4,90 at the Okura / Twenty one. How dare they ask that much money for a third of a liter of lager. These people should be fined. Just click on the picture to see the complete list so far.

This must be the cheapest beer in town

Below bars must have the cheapest beer in and around town. Perfect for low budget backpack tourists, or just people with very little money..
Beware! Most of the places down below are Rock bars, so if you don't like rock music you might aswell not go. It's just a pity all these bars open up so late... In the near future I'll go to all of them and see whatelse they've got to offer.
Because this is a beerblog I'll only give the beerprices. But I can tell you in som of these places a glass of wine is the same price and a glass of Wodka just TWO Euro's!
OT301 on the southside of Vondelpark, beer €1,50, only open after 21:00.
MKZ on the Eerste Schinkelstraat, beer €1,00, only open tuesdays through thursdays after 19:00.
OCCI on the Amstelveenseweg, beer €1,20, only open after 21:00.
Molli in the van Ostadestraat, beer €1,00, only open after 21:30.
Vrankrijk on the Spuistraat, beer €1,00 only open after 21:30 and
The Minds also on the Spuistraat, €1,40, only open after 21:00.

Even little Lego men drink Beer

A Brandspanking New List

Click on the list to see it properly:)

Berliner Babe

My good friend Jules wrote a letter to the guys who ran me over. Its very funny so please read it at: Berliner Babe.

Proef

I went to a new bar tonight and it's excellent! They have a drinking area and a separate food area, they've got a terrace outside as well. It's called Proef and it's got 22!!! beers on tap. 22 Belgian beers to be specific! Except for them 22 beers they have at least another 7 beers in bottles. One of the beers I tried was Hommel from Poperinge. Never heard from it before but what a beautiful taste. They even got their own beer: Proef Blond, brewed by the people from the Prael Brewery. Strange thing: If you look at the Proef Blond logo, you can see the name of the brewery is misspelled. On top of it all you can eat lovely food there as well and they've got live jazz music there on Sunday's. You won't find me there then, I hate jazz but this is perfect. A Belgian bar just around the corner from my house!

An offer from the Cracked Kettle

The Cracked Kettle must have discoverd my blog. In the shoutbox on the side of the blog they've posted the following: "Cracked Kettle have 33cl cans of Grimbergen Blond (6.7%) @ 1 Euro. Mention this blog & get 10% off".
That's nice.... Grimbergen Blond 33cl cans for €0,90 cents if you mention my Blog at the Cracked Kettle.
You can find them at Raamsteeg 3 in a small alley between the singel canal and Spuistraat directly across the street from the Belgium beer cafe Gollem. They are about a 5 minute walk from Dam square and are open daily from 12PM-10PM. For more information call them from Amsterdam at 020-6240745 anytime. Outside the country call +31-(0)20-6240745.

Lots of Rain = Pricey Beer

Bad news for all beerdrinkers.... Because of the bad weather in the last two months, the wheat hasn't really grown all summer so the prices of all wheats have gone up at least sixty percent. Besides beer all other wheat product are going up in price as well... Sorry breadeaters, Gindrinkers, pastamunchers, eggfriers etc. etc. etc..

No Pubs for a While.

Unfortunately I won't be going to any pubs, bars, clubs or anything else for at least 2 or 3 weeks. Why? Because I've been run over by a car last week, because the fucker did a hit and run, because I broke my fucking cheekbone, my fucking eyesocket and chipped part of the back of my fucking skull and because I have to be in a fucking brace for weeks on end. I feel okay but it'll take a while to heal. So unfortunately no beers for me... I'll write somewhere in August again... Email Me for questions at jeroenpater@gmail.com

Bitter beer blow as VB gets downgrade

The alcohol content of Victoria Bitter is to be cut as brewer Foster's tries to slash millions of dollars from its tax bill. Foster's will also raise the wholesale price of all its packaged beers by about 2 per cent next month.Industry experts say the VB alcohol content reduction - from 4.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent - could save Foster's $20 million in beer tax a year.But the company has assured drinkers the taste of the iconic VB will stay the same."It certainly doesn't affect the taste, which is very important to our VB drinkers," VB spokesman Ben Wicks said."The taste will stay exactly the same. Our master brewers have done a lot of work to make sure of that."The lower-alcohol VB will start appearing in bottle shops from late August.
Mark Bowles, industry analyst at IBISWorld, said the drop in alcohol content would mean a "significant saving" for the brewer.
"Our estimate would be that they could save potentially between $10 million and $20 million," Mr Bowles said.
More conservative estimates put the excise saving at $5 million to $10 million.

Beer is addicted to me!

TUI Commercial

Winston Kingdom

The Dommelsch vaasjes at the Winston Kingdom, a couple of blocks away from Getto, are smaller than elsewhere... What's up with that? And they still want €2,- for them as well? I'll drink Becks or IJ beer instead thank you... Nice place though... Little stage with punkbands playing, Betty Page video playing on the wall, nice people to talk with... A bit like a mix of Soundgarden and Maloe Melo. I'll definately come back here.

Getto

Went to Getto on the Warmoesstraat for some cocktails and some food. Every sunday cocktails are only €5,- and food ain't too pricey either. Great things on the menu like Kangaroo and Ostrich. They call themselves "a place with an attitude free zone for gays, lesbians, bi's queers and straights. Grolsch is €2,10 but who wants to drink Grolsch anyway, it's shit and gives me a nasty hangover. There's probably just one beer worse than Grolsch and that's Budweiser. Anyway... Getto has happy hours Tuesday's to Saturdays and on Thursday's they have something called a Beerball... Not sure what it is, but apperantly it's got something to do with special beers.... I'll have to go back and see what it exactly is.

Maloe Melo

After The Cave I still had the strength to go to another live bar in Amsterdam, on the Lijnbaansgracht, near Korsakoff and Soundgarden. No beer in glasses here... Just bottles of Leeuw for € 2,00 a piece... Pretty good price!! The big advantage of this bar compared to any other blues bar in town is that Maloe Melo has live music every night and it's not full of tourists who have too much money to spend... This place is for "normal" people, who like "normal" music and like playing pinball too :)

The Cave

After seeing a great band called Demia in Bitterzoet last week, I decided to see 3 more heavy metal bands... Only this time in a proper metal bar called The Cave, which is located on the Prinsengracht near Leidseplein... I'm gonna be short and simple...
If you're in to loud music € 2,00 Heineken and very nice people.... Then go and visit the Cave...

De Bierkoning vs. The Cracked Kettle

Let's compare the two main beershops in Amsterdam. Bierkoning and the Cracked Kettle. I went to both of them this weekend...
Beers? Cracked Kettle has about 200 different ones. The Bierkoning more then 1000!CK - 0, BK - 1
Price? Cracked Kettle is more expensive then De Bierkoning.CK - 0, BK - 1
Service?, The guy in the Cracked Kettle didn't say a word and didn't offer his help.
The girl at De Bierkoning offered me to order the beer I was looking for (Radlinger) from Germany.CK - 0, BK - 1
Extra's? At the Cracked Kettle they only sell beer. At De Bierkoning they've also got books, glasses, t-shirts, giftpacks etc. etc. etc.CK - 0, BK - 1
Area? Well, I do have to give the Cracked Kettle 1 point here... Why? Well they are opposite Gollem and De Bierkoning isn't.CK - 1, BK - 0

Final Score:Cracked Kettle - 1, Beerkoning - 4

Heineken Family Stake Sale Never Considered

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A sale of the Heineken family's stake in Dutch brewer Heineken NV has never been on the cards, family heiress Charlene Carvalho-Heineken said in an interview with Dutch trade magazine Bierblad. "I can honestly say that the thought never entered my head. As a family we are part of the past, present and future of the brewery," Carvalho-Heineken was quoted by the magazine as saying. "Heineken has from the outset been a true Dutch firm and it will remain so. I cannot imagine a takeover by a larger foreign brewer."
Heineken, the world's fourth largest brewer in terms of sales, is controlled by the Heineken family which has a 50.05 percent stake.
Carvalho-Heineken is the great-granddaughter of the company's founder.

Soundgarden

I've mentioned it before: Soundgarden on the Marnixstraat. They are truly my favorite bar in town and they deserve a little more attention then I've given them so far. Beer is one of the things I like about Soundgarden. They've got about 30 different kinds for a pretty low price. € 1,80 for a Budels for instance. Other beers on tap are Batavier and Witte Parel. Some of the beers they got in bottles are Bio Budels, Boddingtons, Brugse Tripel, Gulden Draak, Karmeliet Tripel, Witkap Stimulo and Vuurtoren. They've also got plenty of stuff to do. A pooltable, dartboard, fussball table and 2 pinball machines, lots of stuff to look at on the walls and allways something to read.
People here are very easy to talk to. They basically just walk up to you and start talking to you. Cafe Soundgarden in Amsterdam is a meetingpoint for people who are into various styles of 'alternative' music, from grunge to surfpunk and on top of it all, on sunny days you can relax on their beautiful terrace (facing the west, so always sun) along the canal. So you can even come by boat!

't Bruggetje

Next to this little bridge, on the Admiralengracht, is a little neighbourhood bar called: 't Bruggetje (the little bridge). I went in there last night and I do have to say there's only 2 words for it: dark en dingy. I sat on the bar talking to the owner and got fed beers from 2 drunk guys who were sitting next to me. There's 2 gambling machines and a little terrace outside and however dark and dingy it was, it was still very nice.
Unfortunately the city council has decided that the whole block of buildings has to disappear because there's going to be a big square, but when that's going to happen noone knows. Until then you can still drink Heineken there for € 1,80.

Homer Simpson Beer Song

Belgica

Yeay, a new Belgian beer pub in Amsterdam. It's called Belgica (not to be confused with Belgique) and is just a 1 minute walk away from Leidseplein. It's very big, has typical Belgian food on the menu, it has free newspapers to read on big reading teables and it's got 9 different beers on tap, 16 beers in normal botlles and 12 beers in big bottles. The place is in a prime location, the beers aren't from small breweries and the prices aren't as low as they should be so I assume they are targeting tourists. The price of half a pint is € 2,75
The breweries they've got beer from are: jupiler, stella artois, hoegaarden, leffe, la chouffe, de koninck, hertog jan, achelse kluis, bellevue, chimay, duvel, orval, palm, rodenbach, vedett, westmalle and liefmans.
All in all I like it and eventhough the price is of the beer is too high, the rest of the prices are quite normal (leg of rabbit with treacle and black plums for € 12,50 ain't a lot and is the most expensive thing on the menu).
On top of it all, the toilets must be the most beautiful and the cleanest in the whole of Europe.

€ 1,00 beer

I found a place where a can of lager is only one euro. It's a secret place and I'm not allowed to say where it is... But.... maybe you can find out....
Ask me questions and I might give you clues.

Amsterdam Beer Map

First version of the Amsterdam Pub Map... Every day I'll add some more...

Marktzicht, Topido, Brinkentuin and Ronaldinho

Down the road from Bax are a few other places to visit. Marktzicht, Topido, Brinkentuin and Ronaldinho. All these bars have is Heineken. but the prices in each bar and the atmosphere are very different. At Marktzicht you pay € 1,80 for a beer they are a real local and are open very late, at Topido (which closes at 7PM) the beer is € 1,75 and at Brinkentuin and Ronaldinho € 2,00... They are all dark brown Amsterdam cafe's but Brinkentuin and Ronaldinho are Surinamese owned. At Brinkentuin you can also eat Surinamese for very cheap. I didn't go in Ronaldinho's but I'll go in there another time.

Laundry tumbles with beer

If you'd rather be having a beer with friends than washing your clothes, a U.S. laundromat has come with the solution. With six beers on tap, plus a range of bottled brews in the fridge, wireless Internet connection, couches and video games, Laundry 101 is as much a bar as a laundry.

"The people who use the bar usually just have a beer or two while they do their laundry," said Zach Brandon, 34, part-owner of Laundry 101 and city council member in Madison.

Brandon came to Madison from Ohio in 1998 to open a hybrid mix of Internet cafe and laundromat, but all that's left of that plan is a $7,000 espresso machine under the bar.

"There are eight coffee shops, not counting two Starbucks, within a few blocks of here," he said, kicking the espresso machine.

"So that idea went out the window pretty fast." Instead, Laundry 101 serves an array of beers including local brews such as Capital Brewery's seasonal Maibock ale -- made in Middleton just outside Madison -- catering largely for students from the nearby University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It's a Saturday night, but unlike other downtown bars serving the 41,000 strong student body here, Laundry 101 is relatively empty with just a few students using the washing machines and driers, surfing the web or having a beer.

"Saturday is actually one of our quietest nights, it's far busier during the week," Brandon said.

While the bar only brings in a small portion of Laundry 101's business, bar tender Allie Gilman, 21, said there are many regular customers, plus the occasional tourist. "It's generally a fun, easygoing crowd we get in here, people who want to kick back with friends while they wash their clothes," said Gilman.

Yet another update

And yet another update. Cheapest Beer in Amsterdam so far? Kriterion! Click on the pic to see the list.

Ouch!

A Northern Iranian man got 180 whiplashes during a holiday. He got these because he drank 2 beers. 35 year old Mamand Mamandy is doing okay, but is still in very much pain. Mamandy, a Kurdish male was visiting his mum in Baneh. The police arrested him there. The family was having a barbeque when the police drove by and saw Mamand having a sip of his beer. In total he'd had 2 beers. Straight away he got arrested and at the policestation they sentenced him to 180 whiplashes. He got them on his back. Mamand seeked asylum in Norway in 1999. He lives in a town called Drammen and has the Norwegian nationality.... This is too sad for words.....

Kegulator

Hey!! This is handy! On http://www.kegulator.com/ you can now see how many kegs of beer you need when your having a party. Only one problem... It doesn't tell you how much the kegs hold. 1 liter? Or 10? Or 20?

Bars in De Baarsjes

Katja Brokke has written a piece (in Dutch only unfortunately) about beer and bars in De Baarsjes, an area in Amsterdam which used to have lots of crime but which is definately going the right way now... She's going to visit all the bars in this area and write a small review about them... Read it on http://www.amsterdamcentraal.nl/
In the mean time I've found another little cafe in De Baarsjes, near Mercatorplein, where you can eat as well, with a terrace outside (facing west, so sun all day), it's called Cafe Cook. I haven't been in yet but it looks very nice. Jupiler: € 1,90.

Small Beer Break

After last week I'm having a small beer break this week. Last week Tuesday I got pissed, drank too much whisky, scotch and beer in a very short period of time while playing poker. Wednesday I went out to Kale where they have on tap:
Amstel € 2,00
Wieckse Witte
Palm and
La Chouffe
And in bottles:
Duvel
Westmalle Tripel
Westmalle Dubbel
Corona
Natte and Zatte... Mmmmm.
Thursday I went back there and then to Montmartre after with Heineken, Heineken Ice on tap, Heineken Longneck, Wieckse Witte and Amstel Mald in a bottle to watch the semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest. Friday.... Kale again, then Bitterzoet (see below), Saarein and Soundgarden. And.....
Saturday I went to the Meibock Festival and then to a friend after to see the Eurovision Song Contest Finals... Pffffffffff, Quite a week....

Drinking beer for charity!

Breda beer, Breda's export product, is for sale until the end of the year. InBev and supermarket Albert Heijn have communicated that Friday. In bBeda and surroundings 16 supermarkets participate to sale. Ten eurocents of every sold can will go to the restoration the large church. Breda beer was sold in the sixties in the Netherlands and still sold abroad. The restoration of the large church has recently entered the last phase. In 2011, the restoration should be finished.

Tax Free Beer in Flanders?

Why oh why don't I live in Belgium. The Flemish hotel restaurant cafe foundation wants to abolish tax on beer to draw destitute cafés in Belgium from the slop. A regulation which many belgians will agree with. The association wants belgians to be able to get a taxrefund on the beers which they've bought in a pub/cafe, because of this, beer drinking in cafés will become more popular then consuming liquid bread at home.

Bitterzoet

Bitterzoet, on the Spuistraat, what a strange but very nice place, upstairs there's a bar, downstairs a big space with a stage and another bar. Live music, DJ's, all different kinds of music and all different kinds of people too... I went there for the "stadsspelen" which are a kind of Olympics in all sorts of categories including quiz and music.
Tap:
Brand €2,10
Heineken Ice
Wieckse Witte
Bottle:
Duvel
Corona
Heineken Export

Brewery List 10th Meibock Festival

De Prael
't Vølen
Bavaria
Brand
Brouwerij 't IJ
De Eem
De Hemel
De Lepelaer
De Snaterende Arend
Drie Horne
Elegant
Gulpener
Hertog Jan
Jopen
Klein Duimpje
Maasland
Molen
Mommeriete
Oijen
Onder de Linden
Servattumus
Slaghmuylder
La Binchoise
Fantome
Kerkom
Proefbrouwerij
De Dolle Brouwers
Hummel
Heller
Jever
Riedenburger
St Sylvestre
Fullers
Anchor

RSS Feed for Cheap Beer 020

You can now subscribe for free to the Cheap Beer 020 RSS as well. This way you'll allways stay updated when I've posted something new. To subscribe click HERE.

Joost invites

I've got plenty of Joost invites left...
Anyone want one?
Leave a comment and I'll invite you.
"Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping." It might take one or 2 days before you get the invite cuz I'm not online 24/7.

Pubs_v1.0.kmz

I've decided I'm making the 1st KMZ file for Google Earth available.
Definately not finished yet, so it's only version 1.0.
If you want to see what I'm talking about, then get Google earth and download the kmz file: pubs_v1.0.kmz from: http://rapidshare.com/files/30072188/Pubs_v1.0.kmz.html

Cafe de Zon

On the Lindengracht in the Jordaan area in Amsterdam, on one of the first corners on the left is Cafe de Zon. A small cafe with lovely people behind the bar. Typically Amsterdam. This is a place Ill come back to more often. A bonus is that a vaasje of Heineken is only € 1,80. As far as I know this is the only beer they have.