On this page all the breweries I have visited so far are listed. It also gives a general rating for the total of information, organization and product confrontation during the guided tour. The rating is as follows:
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definitively recommended |
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outstanding |
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good |
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moderate |
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...fortunately the beer tasted good! |
This rating is very subjective, of course, but can give you a general idea what to expect.
| Brewery | Date visited | Price | Info | Comments | Rating |
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| Heineken Den Bosch | 28 aug. 1997 | n.a. | 073-6209911 | My first visit to a brewery. It was organized as an introduction activity at the beginning of the 2nd SPD-schoolyear. Both the tour, as well as the product confrontation thereafter are extensive. | |
| Hertog Jan Arcen | 3 july 1999 | f 7,50 | 077-4739160 | Visited when there was a BAV-exchange mart. Unfortunately, the brewery didn't produce that day (saturday) and there was no productconfrontation afterwards. The movie about the beer's name-giver (duke Jan van Brabant) is very interesting. | |
| Grolsch Enschede | 12 aug. 1999 | n.a. | 053-4833200 | At Grolsch the promotion film is not about the company, but is merely a chain of tv-commercials with some extra information squeezed in here and there. The overall quality of the tour is comparable to that at Heineken; also the productconfrontation is interesting because of the many different beers Grolsch produces. | |
| Heineken Den Bosch | 25 aug. 1999 | n.a. | 073-6209911 | There was an opportunity to visit this brewery again and in retrospect to the previous experience I took this opportunity. The joke with a beercan for export and one for the domestic market is a standard in the tour :) | |
| Oranjeboom Breda | 17 sep. 1999 | n.a. | 076-5252424 | Visited when there as a BAV-exchange mart. The organization then was a little mess and fellow-tourists were more in a hurry to familiarize themselves with the product than they were sincerely interested in taking the tour. Oranjeboom momorizes its history extensively and even has its own museum. Although it was a friday-afternoon and it is quite a large brewery, just a small part was actually functioning (the packaging of cans). | |
| Brand Wijlre | 7 april 2000 | n.a. | 043-4508282 | And again a BAV-tour. As well before as after the tour there was plenty time to taste and enjoy the different Brand-beers. The guide didn't know much more than he had memorized, but it doesn't have to be always elaborated. A tour to Brand is in my opinion perfect for company excursions. You get to see everything, get to hear all about beer brewing, but in a relatively short time - an hour or so. | |
| Koningshoeven Berkel-Enschot | 3 aug. 2000 | f 7,50 | 013-5438282 | The beginning of the tour was messy: a movie about living in the abbey is shown after the tour, so everyone who is present in the bar at that time thinks the tour starts then. The tour was not announced. The charm of visiting this brewery is that there is as much attention to living in the abbey as well as brewing beer. Besides, the guide now knows there are 6 trappistbreweries instead of just 5. Apart from the usual story about brewing, one gets to see and hear about the 'firedepartment', a bakery from the old days and the fathers' lives. The productconfrontation afterwards is at one's own expense. | |
| De Hemel Nijmegen | 18 aug. 2000 | f 9,- | 024-3606167 | One should start visiting breweries at this one. The owner/brewer tells fascinatingly about the brewingprocess and his brewery's history. He really enjoys his work and it shows. There is no actual brewing or bottling to be seen, but that is compensated about the other activities that take place in his brewery: the making of beervinegar and mustard. The productconfrontation afterwards is at one's own expense. | |
| Maasland Brouwerij Oss | 15 sep. 2000 | n.a. | 0412-638473 | While the brewer of De Hemel is showing that a visit to a very small brewery can be just as interesting as visiting a large brewery, the Maasland Brewery is missing an opportunity here. The videopresentation was poor (not finished yet) and the brewer himself was very passive by just answering questions of the visitors and pointing to jars filled with ingredients and a label-album. There is nothing to be seen at all, because of the fact that everything is manual labour and this afternoon was reserved for the BAV. You'd better spend the afternoon/evening with the unique concept of the Walhalla brewery, with the cooperation of Maasland Brewery: a theme-party where beer is brewed by all the partypeople. Then you'll know more about brewing and beer than when you'd visit the brewery. | |
| Alfa Brouwerij Schinnen | 25 oct. 2000 | f 15,= | 046-4432888 | The reception is exactly as one would expect when visiting Limburg: coffee and pie. After a short introduction the group was split in two, so that a part had to wait for about one hour. That time could be spent enjoying the Alfa-beers or visiting the adjacent liquor store. The tour was held by an enthusiast, retired person who put a lot of humour in his story and didn't hide his love for the Alfa-beers. Production was going as during a normal business day and one could get a closer look at it contrary to most breweries. Also in the bottling room one nearly stands above the center of activity. | |
| Alfa Brouwerij Schinnen | 17 nov. 2000 (!) | f 15,= | 046-4432888 | Organized by myself for a couple of collegues. I have chosen Alfa because of the following reasons: 1) an excursion could be arranged at short notice; 2) we had Maastricht as our base, so Alfa was at relative short distance; 3) I liked the other excursion, but 4) I didn't have the chance to taste all those nice Alfa-beers, so I just had to come back! | |
| Oudaen Utrecht | 21 feb. 2001 | f 13,75 | 030-2311864 | BAV-tour. This brewery is just like De Hemel in Nijmegen located in the city's centre. The brewer tells with great enthusiasm. During the tour, he was in fact doing his job, so he was able to tell his story while showing was he was doing. | |
| Cantillon Brussels (Belgium) | 9 mar. 2002 | Visited because of a BAV-tour to Belgian Pajottenland. A special visit, because that day the last beer of the season was being brewed during the socalled open brew-day. The guide made us aware of the fact there is a brewer in each of us and brewing is very simple (really!). His story in the various parts of the brewery was very elaborate and was about the activities going on there and the history of the brewery. This elaborateness doesn't make the story more interesting at all times, unfortunately, and in a large part of the brewery there is a penetrating smell that can be experienced as unpleasant. However, the brewery offers a wide range of beers based on lambic. Summarized one can say that a visit to this brewery is one for the more experienced beerdrinker. | |
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| Drie Fonteinen Beersel (Belgium) | 9 mar. 2002 | Visited because of a BAV-tour to Belgian Pajottenland. The brewer told elaborately about the effort he and his collegue-gueuze-brewers made when the gueuze was doomed to extinct and still make to keep the gueuze alive. The brewery wasn't quite finished yet, because the Drie Fonteinen was just a lambic-blender and the brewery is existing for just a short period. Nevertheless the tour was elaborate too, just like the tasting which carried us along a couple of years of gueuzes and lambics. The brewery also has a restaurant which serves meals that are made with gueuze. | |
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| Koningshoeven Berkel-Enschot | 23 mar. 2002 | 013-5438282 | Visit organized by the staff association of my work. The tour is done is something more than half an hour, what is done easily because of the speed the guide told her story. However, my second visit to this brewery gave me some new information and new items for the collection of glasses | |
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| Dommelsch Dommelen | 19 apr. 2002 | BAV-tour preceding the international collectors day. Before the tour you will be told elaborately about the Interbrew-organization and how Dommelsch fits in. Off course a corporate film about Dommelsch will be shown (a little dated right now), the award-winning commercial with the archeologists and an Interbrew-promotion film. The tour is being done by a very enthusiastic man. Very special is - or, better: was - an orginal painting of Brood in the entrance to the bottling room. However, some villains meant that they should have that painting and stole it so that it had to be replaced with a copy. The bottling room appears to be richly fulled with the most modern equipment for which most breweries can be jealous at. The tour ends with a visit to the brewery's own museum, where cashbooks, labels, bottles and ads from days long ago can still be admired. Off course, after the visit to the museum, there's the obliged beertasting. A big minus is they don't offer all the beers they produce: only Oud Bruin, Pilsener and Ice are available. | |
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| Museumbrouwerij De Roos Hilvarenbeek | 15 May 2002 | € 4,50 | 013-5055045 | BAV-tour. What this tour makes so special is that you don't actually visit a working brewery, but a restored one from the thirties of the 20th century. The brewery not only consists of the authentic building, but also contains the authentic interior as well! To be able to pay the restoration and to run the museumbrewery, beer is being brewed in a small building built next to the old brewery. A visit to this museumbrewery gives a good and clear view of how things were done in the thirties. The guidess tells elaborately about the brewery's history, but loses sight on keeping the group together so not everyone will follow the complete story. The tasting room is very tastefully decorated with all kinds of beer-related items and all beer, except for the special Christmas beer, can be tasted. | |
| St. Servattumus Schijndel | 21 August 2002 | € 6,= | 073-5478956 | BAV-tour. And again a typical brewery that is run by real beer-lovers. That is clearly shown in the story (in this case) told by Toon v.d. Heijden: one and only enthusiasm. Where tours at the large breweries are done within one hour, just to get the "beer-lovers" as quickly as possible to taste the beer(s) being produced, St. Servattumus reserves about two hours to tell the brewery's history, anecdotes, the brewing process and finally the brewery in the future. And that all while the visitor already is being confronted with the beers that are being brewed here. At the end one gets a look at the brewing installation, but that's no more than a formality. It is very basic: nearly everything is still done manually (filling of bottles, placing the crowncap, labeling). And, actually, can one see the difference, besides the size perhaps, between the installations at Heineken, Grolsch, Bavaria or Oranjeboom? The "point" these breweries gain by showing the visitor a working, very complicated factory layout is more than being compensated by the personalities each of these "small" brewers are. | |
| Moerenburg Tilburg | 20 september 2002 | n.a. | 013-5360518 | BAV-tour because of the fall exchange fair. This fair was set up with the cooperation of Moerenburg, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2002. This brewery is the smallest one I've been so far, litterally at the brewer's home. Everytime it is surprising how creative people are with replacing manual work by machines that every do-it-yourselfer has in his garage... The brewery is run purely on a hobby-basis: everything that is sold (only in the neighbourhood of the brewery) is a plus and when the brewers don't like to brew anymore, they just quit. Hopefully, for the lovers of their beers, this will be a long time from now. This day three beers could be tasted: the white beer, which was surprisingly sparkling and clear and by most of the ones who took the tour not very loved (let me find this one the most tasteful!); then there was a bock beer and a triple. Especially the triple gave me the impression of an unpleasant sourness, but this one was liked very much by most people. During the tour there was the standard story of brewing and explanation of the installations. | |
| Bofferding Bascharage (Luxemburg) | 28 september 2002 | € 2,50 | This day, an international exchange fair for breweriana was being organized at the Bofferding plant. I was surprised to find out there were tours as well, so I didn't let go of that chance. At the time the tour should start there turned out to be only five people who took the tour and the guide was nowhere to be seen. Eventually it took about a quarter of an hour when he showed up. Not really well organized... The tour starts with a company movie. It was a pity, however, that it was only available in the Luxemburgian dialect at that time, but one could follow reasonably well. The tour is given completely in German, but this wasn't any problem for the Dutch people who took the tour. The brewery is visited extensively. A lot of effort has been put in the light- and soundeffects during the tour. Also a reasonable collection of old brewer's equipment can be seen. After all, the tour took more than an hour and every question was well answered. The next tour at Bofferding had a more mass character (approximately 30 contestants), so we knew we had made the right decision. | |
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| Haacht Boortmeerbeek (Belgium) | 29 september 2002 | n.v.t. | It was a coincidence I viewed Haacht's website and read about the open house. Once arrived in Boortmeerbeek (a place near Haacht) the tour appeared to be a "do-it-yourself" activity: lead by a brochure in which the functions of each installation were described one could walk through the brewery. It was very busy, but there were no real delays. The brewery operated fully, what is always a nice thing to see. For the glasscollector the collection of all beerglasses of the brewery in the former director's office was a good opportunity to see which are still missing in his collection. A storage room was for this day transformed into a huge bar, where one could get one drink free. It turned out that this brewery produces more beers than I knew and unfortunately I haven't been able to taste them all... | |
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| De Keersmaeker Kobbegem (België) Timmermans Itterbeek (België) De Troch Wambeek (België) De Cam Gooik (België) Boon Lembeek (België) 3 Fonteinen Beersel (België) | 27 april 2003 | n.v.t. | Once per two years HORAL organizes a day when several geuze-breweries can be visited, the socalled Tour de Geuze. The trip was made with a hired touringcar together with several geuze- and lambic-lovers, very well organized by a fellow BAV-member. The highest appreciation for this day is not only because of all the breweries had to offer, but also the fantastic guide we had for this day in the peron of Jef v.d. Steen, who didn't hesitate to guide us around a couple of breweries himself! An absolute must for a group of interested geuze- and lambic-enthousiasts. (For more information about the Tour de Geuze, visit i.e. the site of 3 Fonteinen.) |
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| Cambrinus Horst | August 2 2003 | € 3,- | To say it once more: people who visit a brewery just to drink as much as they can for 'free' are at the wrong place at a small brewery. Fortunately, those folks stay away there, so that only those who are really interested remain. This gives the brewer the ultimate opportunity to tell an elaborate story. This is also the case with the brewer of Cambrinus: het tells the complete history of beer (yes, really) and relates that to the developments of the breweries in the region of Horst. Really unique is that he shows the brewingprocess at miniature scale (milling of malt, put that in a pan, add some hot water, stir a little and filtrate it). It's so simple actually... For a change he also explained how the density of the brew is being measured and how the taxes are being calculated and paid. The brewery originated from a café, which serves over 130 beers. It is really worth a visit (call for opening hours first!). | |
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| Kollenburg 's-Hertogenbosch | Augustus 30 2003 | € 4,50 | BAV-tour to a very tiny brewery in the basement of a café in the centre of the cosy town Den Bosch. Again the brewer is eloquent. Yet, I think the presentation was a bit meagre: a simple flipover is actually not done anymore and the videopresentation was nearly unhearable. A pity. Besides that, the story about the water and 's-Hertogenbosch was a little long. Despite all that, the story was being told while tasting not less than four beers, of which two came from the brewery itself. And that is nice, since this holds the attention and the less interested listener doesn't start looking on his watch when only halfway. But above brewer Jan van Kollenburg is most of all a businessman and entrepreneur, what shows in a giftbox he thought out himself, which can later be used as a clock! Where does he get it from... | |
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| Haagse Bierbrouwerij 's-Gravenhage | October 11 2003 | € 5,- | BAV-tour. Special about this brewery is the fact that it is an English style brewery and brews its beers in an English style. It is a coincidence that therefore this visit fits perfectly to a trip to Scotland just a week earlier. (However, there it was whisky that was subject of study.) I was a bit dissappointed about the beers, though, since I thought they all tasted alike, although they were clearly all different (you could tell by colour, smell, etc.). This unfortunately is not a positive impression. However, I was surprised that he brewery was a lot bigger than expected. The brewery is located in the same building as a way too expensive English pub (Firkin), but the businesses are seperate. The pub 'just happens to sell' the beers of the brewery. | |
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| Budelse Bierbrouwerij Budel | October 22 2003 | n.a. | BAV-tour. The reception was very Limburgian (like Alfa), although Budel really still is Noord-Brabant: coffee and pie. The presentation was meagre: the very short story about the brewery was being told in one, single, tired tone, after which a surprisingly professional presentation of the company was shown, but on a way too small camping television. Then it appeared that due to reconstruction works not all of the brewery could be visited. What could be visited, was being visited, but the guide didn't keep an eye on the entire group to follow the explanation of the various parts of the brewery and its installations. With the reconstruction the copper kettles have been removed, but I don't think of this as a miss, since this cultural heritage is already being preserved enough by companies who the many to do so (like Heineken, Interbrew, Grolsch). To preserve all history in all breweries doesn't make sense, it can block future necassary improvements. Well, why still 3 points for this tour? Without any doubt, there are many lovely beers being brewed. And more than just a handful! The productconfrontation gave us the opportunity to taste all of them. Along the beers there were snacks and later on sausage rolls. The brewery has absolutely the potency to make its tour worth 5 points and hopefully it succeeds in doing so, since these tours are a piece of advertisement for the brewery. | |
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| Hertog Jan Arcen | April 17 2004 | n.a. | BAV-tour. It has been 5 years since I visited this brewery and meanwhile it has been modernised and reconstructed. A new visitorcentre annex breweryshop has been opened. The brewerypresentation on film has been cancelled. The tour now starts with the basics of beer: (spring)water. The visitor is given the opportunity to taste this water and is being advised to keep the cup with him during his visit. Unfortunately, it appears that tere are still guides who think there is humour in feeble jokes like 'the wrong spelling of wort' (in Dutch 'wordt' means 'is being'). Please, DON'T do that! The visitors are not just a bunch of todlers but grown-ups. Also leave those other feeble jokes away, since the story doesn't need those at all. The story itself is good enough at Hertog Jan. Very special is that the productconfrontation starts on the tour: a tap on one of the lagertanks is opened to be able to taste the pilsner. After the packagingline has been visited, a bottle of Hertog Jan Grande Prestige is being opened in the cellars of the brewery for a second sample of the great beers this brewery brings forth. | |
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| Bierbrouwerij St. Christoffel Roermond | May 19 2004 | n.v.t. | BAV-tour. How on earth it is possible that there are two very delicious beers come from the kettles at St. Christoffel's, is still unclear to me, because the brewery-site is located on the industrypark of Roermond just a leap away from the large Rockwool-plant. The beers are being characterized by its bitterness, which distinguish them from all those factorybeers without any smell or taste. The brewry is located in a general businesshall like there are many and laid out efficiently. The history of the brewery is being told and all machinery, which sometimes is very antique but is still being used for bottling or cleansing, is being shown and explained. The brewer has good knowledge and answers all questions one may have. A fine tour, without any complaints. | |
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| Bitburger Bitburg (Germany) | August 26 2004 | € 5 | This brewery too had to face the fact that expansion was impossible in the centre of the town and therefore a site in the suburbs had to be found. So today the old brewery in the center houses the visitors centre and the old brewing installations. If desired, a tour in Dutch can be taken, and maybe more languages may be available. The tourguidess told an elaborate story, where humour was all but absent (she was not native German!). From the reception one is taken by bus to the new brewery just outside Bitburg. This is a very large site with corridors of hundreds of meters long. When the tour is over, you get 5 (!) tickets for free drinks and a gift. The drinks can be drunk in a pleasant café called Simonshof, just aside the brewey in the center, where you can also eat. It is nearly beyond belief, but the Bitburger Alkoolfrei is the first alcohof-free beer that has a decent taste! This is a very well organized and presented tour. [Pictures] | |
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| Hanssens Dworp (Belgium) Boon Lembeek (Belgium) Lindemans Vlezenbeek (Belgium) 3 Fonteinen Beersel (Belgium) | April 3 2005 | n.v.t. | A new visit because of the Geuze Day for the public which is being organized by HORAL every 2 years. And this time too the journey was made in a bus of our own, full of geuze- and lambic-lovers. A member of BAV organized this very well. He also managed to get this excellent beer-expect, author and storyteller Mr. Jef van den Steen as a guide during our trip along the breweries. He guides us through 3 different breweries; only at the 4th - 3 Fonteinen - he kept his mouth shut to let the passionate Armand Debelder do the talking. However, he seemed a little worn, which may have caused by family circumstances. For lover of geuze and lambic who missed it all again: in two years a next chance! (For more information about the Toer de Geuze, check for example the site of 3 Fonteinen.) |
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| Grolsch Boekelo (Enschede) | April 15 2005 | n.v.t. | BAV-tour. This new brewery from Grolsch is a state-of-the-art example of the most modern techniques. You nearly can't sniff the sweet smell of wort anymore, but the noise of multiple bottling lines is still there. The tour took a little one and a half hours and starts with (can it be otherwise?) a movie about the construction of this brewery. Right after that, the newest commercial has to be seen, but than we can enter the brewery itself. As a group, we were a little unfortunate because of the participation of a semi-professional brewer, who consumed a lot of the attention of the guide. He didn't care, because it really is very interesting to be able to show a 'colleague' around. Just too bad for the others. The explantion at the various points in the brewing process were basic, never too elaborate, but to the point. When the tour is done, there is plenty of time for tasting the products that come from this brewery. They don't make as many variants anymore as they used to. Besides, a couple of them are low-alcoholic (2,5%), so these are drunk easily. It is all organized very well and never get to sit with an empty glass, appetizers on the side and a gift on the way out. One thing I definitely learned this day, however, is that Grolsch doesn't brew my kind of taste... [Pictures] | |
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| Mommeriete Holthone | May 20 2006 | € 4 | BAV-tour. Mommeriete is a fairly young little brewery of the type all-in-one-room, managed by a man and wife couple. The brewery is neat and looks very modern. To give it a somewhat classic feel, the mashtun and clearingtun are padded with copper. A visit to this kind of breweries doesn't actually consist of a tour along the facilities, but merely is a reception in the brewroom, where you remain for the rest of the visit. It fully depends, then, on the story the brewer has to tell whether it is really getting interesting. This is very much the case at Mommeriete! The story is an interesting mix of local history, the foundation of the brewery, the brewing process and the beers that are being brewed. No less than 9 varieties! I forgive the brewer, in this case, not to know the full history of brewing and the brewworld in general. Unfortunately, I only got to taste 2 beers of this brewery so far. But their taste was good, and is an invitation to further explore the other beers. This brewery is certainly worth a detour. | |
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| Palm Steenhuffel (België) | 18 oktober 2006 | BAV-tour. Despite the fact that the union primarily focusses on Dutch breweries, it often takes a look across the border for an interesting option for a tour. This time it is Palm to be visited: for the Dutch the most-known brewer of special beer. The reception is in a nice building, in which the bar is situated, as well as the shop and a small exhibition of informational displays. The tour starts (!) with a freshly draught Palm, which is being enjoyed while viewing the business film. This time no pictures of the production process, but a focus on the brewery's history, as well as its surroundings, instead. Fine, because the production process is part of the story the guide has to tell while on tour. After this short film and the newest commercial is shown (just like Grolsch does), the tour around the brewery starts. With a lot of humour the Belgian-Dutch guide tells about the production process, the ingredients being used and finally the bottling lines. After the brewery has been visited, there is no tasting session. At least, not yet! First, we visit Palm's own studfarm. It is really unique that an industrial company takes care of the local heritage. The horses are now being used in historic processions and further they have a nice life in the meadows surrounding the castle. And now it is time for tasting the brews! Since Palm is no longer a mono product brewery, there is more to choose than just Palm. Besides its own beers Palm, Palm Royale, Bock Pils (very regionbound) it is possible to degust the Rodenbach-gamma, with the regular Rodenbach, Grand Cru and Redbach. Unfortunately, beers from Boon cannot be tasted, since Palm 'only' owns 50% of the brewery. Because the journey back home takes a couple of hours, there is no more time than to taste just two beers, but visitors who aren't bound to a specific time can taste all the beers one by one... One detail is missing, though: some appetizers to even enhance the tasting some more. But, this is more than being compensated by means of a gift of a collector's glass. [Pictures] | |
