Water, or something better?¶
Disclaimer: This page is not written by a local, but by someone from Belgium who visits Amsterdam from time to time. Hence it is biased towards his interests.
I'm not so much in the kind of night entertainment offered at the "Ouderzijds Voorburgwal" and "Ouderzijds Achterburgwal" so no advice about that area. However, Amsterdam has more to offer at night. Though we, Belgians, used to compare Dutch beer with dirty water, nowadays the Netherlands in general and Amsterdam in particular have a nice craft beer scene. Most beers are more than decent, and some of those beers are truly excellent. So here are some breweries in the city with taprooms, and some other craft beer bars. They may very well give you a much cheaper evening than the entertainment at "De Wallen" and are as effective in forgetting the stress of a busy course day.
Map of the venues below on Google Maps.
Breweries¶
All those breweries also have a taproom unless otherwise indicated. I haven't tried them all yet though.
For some breweries, I also provide links to a web site that lists all their beers, including scores given by users of that web site. This is for all beers that they made through their recent history and does by no means imply that you can order all those beers now. If I know of a list that mirrors what is available now, I've included that list instead as the menu.
The list is sorted according to walking distance from the SURF building in Science Park, but you'll have to be a good swimmer for one of them (or take a ferry).
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Poesiat & Kater. This brewery is just 1.4km walking from the SURF building in Science Park and so could be your first place to get some relief after a hard course day. They also serve food, but I haven't tried their restaurant yet.
(Google Maps) (Beer menu)
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The brewery has three taprooms:
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De Molen in De Gooyer, at the original brewery. (There is now a second location 700m further but without a taproom.)
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Café Struis, next to De Molen
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Proeflokaal ‘t Blauwe Theehuis in the Vondelpark and close to the famous "Museumplein" with some of the main museums of Amsterdam.
If you want to know how their beers score, you can check the brewery page on Untappd.
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Brouwerij Homeland: Located in a hotel-restaurant in the centre of Amsterdam. It is in a part of Amsterdam where battleships were made from the middle of the 17th century till the start of the first world war (in which The Netherlands were not occupied).
(Google Maps) (Beer menu)
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Oedipus Craft Space is the taproom of Oedipus in Amsterdam-Noord, across the river IJ. This no longer really a small craft beer brewery, but has become rather large and is now a subsidiary of Heineken.
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De Bierfabriek: Brewery and restaurant in the centre of the city, not far from the Rokin metro station.
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De Prael is a brewery active in several cities in the Netherlands (also in Den Haag and Groningen). There is only one location left in Amsterdam, in the Oudezijds Armsteeg, right in the centre and a short walk from the central station.
(Google Maps) (Amsterdam beers on Untappd) (Den Haag beers on Untappd) (Groningen beers on Untappd)
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Brouwerij Troost has two locations
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Locatie De Pijp, at the Cornelis Troostplein, is where it all started. Nowadays it is their experimental brewery. They serve food also.
(Google Maps) (Full beer and food menu, hopefully up-to-date)
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Locatie Westergas is their newer location. A formal industrial site used by the gas company now turned into an area with bars and lots of cultural activities. It is now also their main production site. They have a complete menu.
(Google Maps) (Full beer and food menu, hopfully up-to-date)
If you want to know how their beers score, you can check the brewery page on Untappd.
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Two Chefs Restaurant and Taproom with the restaurant and taproom next to one another. Two chefs who started brewing their own beers to go with the food. The beers became so successful that nowadays it is brewed in a different location in the port of Amsterdam, but that location cannot be visited.
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Gebrouwen door Vrouwen BAR: Beer brewed by women. They have no brewery of their own, but use the installations of other breweries to brew beer according to their recipes.
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Brouwerij Kleiburg at De Bijlmer and hence a bit outside the centre of Amsterdam. If you'd go there, look for "De Proefzaak".
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Brouwerij de 7 deugden: A bit far outside the centre, and it closes at 6pm so it cannot be combined with the course unless you stay a bit longer in Amsterdam. It is also closed on Sundays so coming early won't help, nor will staying longer as November 1 is a public holiday and hence like a Sunday.
Craft beer bars¶
The first two are the ones I usually go to.
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Bierproeflokaal In De Wildeman in a former distillery. Pleasantly close to the central station, so if you have time on Thursday evening after the course, you could still try it before catching the train. You can also snack a bit. The cheese platter is recommended, or you can try some Dutch "Ossenworst" to integrate with the locals (assuming you're not Dutch of course).
(Google Maps) (Beer menu)
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Proeflokaal Arendsnest. Also a nice place to snack with a beer. I can highly recommend the cheese platter (I usuale take the 2.0).
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Craft & Draft. I haven't been there myself yet, but found the place recommended in various places.
(Google Maps) (Beer menu)
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BeerTemple. I have never been at this place. The name sounds as one that should mostly attract tourists. But though their web site advertises as an "American Beer Bar", they have a nice selection of local beers also, and the typical Dutch snacks (did someone call for "bitterballen"?)
(Google Maps) (Beer menu)