Top 10 Beer Experiences
Follow along as Bethany explores her top 10 beer experiences from her seven river and ocean cruises.
To date, I have had the pleasure of taking five river cruises and two ocean cruises in Europe, Asia, and South America. Along the way, I have done several excursions with beer tastings and brewery tours. Below is the top 10 list of my favorite beer experiences.
At the end of each section is a button(s) with a link to the blog post(s) that cover the full experience. The buttons are color-coded to represent the cruise where the experience occurred:
1. Heineken Experience, Amsterdam
What I Did
Before I joined my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise on Avalon in April 2019, I spent a few days on my own in Amsterdam. One of the places I explored in Amsterdam was the Heineken Experience. I did the VIP Tour, which included a guided tour of the brewery building, a tasting of five different beers in the Heineken portfolio in a hidden bar called Freddy’s, and a personalized gift.
Why I Loved It
This experience tops this list because it was a fabulous overall experience. The tour was very extensive and interesting. Our knowledgeable guide took us through many different areas of the large brewery building, and it was a lot of fun to see all of the different memorabilia, brewing equipment, and gorgeous architecture throughout. The tasting was fantastic as well – we were in a private, quiet room to ourselves, and we had plenty of time to sip and savor each of the five (full pour!) beers. And getting my own personalized bottle of Heineken at the end was the icing on the cake…or perhaps the foam on the beer?
2. Gentse Gruut, Ghent
What I Did
After a morning tour of gorgeous Ghent on my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise, our canal boat dropped us off at the Gentse Gruut Brewery for a beer tasting. We were led through a tasting of three beers by the brew master’s son, who explained the history of their brewery and how their beer is made. This beer is brewed with herbs and spices instead of hops. We also got a tour of the unique and quirky building in which the brewery is located. We later met the brew master herself, who stopped by to say hello!
Why I Loved It
This one is so high on the list for several different reasons: I absolutely fell in love with Ghent itself (and the location of this brewery is beautiful), the atmosphere in this brewery is fun and quirky, I got to meet and talk to the brew master and her son, and the beer here is ridiculously delicious!
3. DeKoninck, Antwerp
What I Did
Another favorite on my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise was an optional excursion to tour the De Koninck Brewery. This excursion included an interactive tour of the brewery and a tasting of two different beers along the way. We were greeted at the start of the tour with our first beer sample. We were each given a token to use for our second beer sample mid-way through the tour, where we could pour our own sample. The tour ended in the taproom where more beer was available for purchase, along with a well-stocked gift shop.
Why I Loved It
This was a great tour because it was self-guided. I loved the ability to wander through the brewery at my leisure and experience the many different hands-on exhibits along the way. I could pause and spend more time in areas that interested me, and I could move more quickly through some others that were less interesting to me (which, honestly, there were very few of!). Besides, being able to wander around while enjoying some delicious beer was also a lot of fun!
4. Trappist Beer, Engelhartszell
What I Did
A wonderful morning on my Active & Discovery on the Danube cruise on Avalon in July 2018 was spent in Engelhartszell, Austria. After touring the beautiful Engelszell Abbey, we headed down the street for a Trappist beer tasting. This is one of only 11 Trappist breweries in the world. The three beers we sampled are brewed here within the walls of the Trappist monastery under the supervision of Cistercian monks. The beer and cheese I sampled from this 13th-century brewery were all delicious!
Why I Loved It
Like Gentse Gruut, this is another example of an experience that is high on this list for both the location itself and the actual experience. Engelhartszell is an absolutely adorable tiny town on the banks of the Danube, and there is such a relaxing and inviting feel to the entire town. The beer tasting was also a lot of fun because we sat at large community tables, so I got to know some of my fellow passengers that I had yet to meet. As with the other stops on this list, the beer here is also very, very good.
5. Pivovars, Prague
What I Did
Another fun beer experience on my Active & Discovery on the Danube cruise was the optional Pivovar Tour in Prague. Pivovar is the Slavic word for brewer and is used as a generic name for breweries. This tour included visits to two different pivovars. Our first stop was U Fleků. This historic brewery has been brewing continuously for over 500 years, dating back to 1499. We met up with one of the brewers who gave us a tour of the beautiful building, including the beer garden. Our tour ended with a visit to see where they actually brew their beer, and we learned about their brewing process and style. No brewery tour would be complete without a tasting, and here we got to sample their dark lager beer. The beer is surprisingly sweet and refreshing!
Our second stop was Pivovar U Medvídků. This small “mini-brewery” is known for making the strongest beer in the world, XBEER-33, using historical technology. Here we got a quick tour (it is a mini-brewery after all!) and then settled in to taste some beer. Our tasting here included three different beers, including the strongest beer in the world (it’s the one served in the very fancy footed glass below!). We also got to sample a selection of marinated cheeses with bread.
Why I Loved It
There ended up being just three of us (myself and one couple) on this excursion, so it was basically a private tour. It’s always fun to have a quiet, more intimate experience like this. Both of these pivovars are steeped in so much history, and it was very interesting to simply see the locations and hear the stories of just how long each has been making beer.
6. Food and Beer Pairing, Onboard
What I Did
One of the highlights of my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise was the onboard food and beer pairing dinner. I enjoyed a phenomenal food and beer pairing dinner, hosted by the onboard beer expert, Dennis. This five-course meal, plus an amuse bouche to start, featured amazing dishes paired perfectly with some fantastic beers. Dennis explained each beer as we went from course to course. As with every other dinner onboard Avalon, the food was exquisite.
Why I Loved It
This is the first of a few onboard beer experiences from my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise to make this list. This one ranks the highest for one simple reason: the quality of the food and the beer served during this dinner was simply outstanding. Each wonderful bite and each delicious sip was a sheer pleasure to enjoy. And each food and beer pairing was spot-on. Finally, having our knowledgeable onboard beer expert walk us through each course and each beer was educational and fun.
7. Kingdom Brewery, Phnom Penh
What I Did
On my Fascinating Vietnam, Cambodia & the Mekong River cruise on Avalon in February 2020, I chose to participate in an optional excursion of a tour and tasting at Kingdom Brewery. The few of us who did the excursion loaded up into tuk-tuks for a short ride to the Kingdom Brewery. The tasting included four brews: hard cider, Pilsner, mango IPA, and a regular IPA. After the tasting we got a tour of the brewery and learned a bit about its history and brewing processes. It was a delicious and refreshing way to spend the afternoon.
Why I Loved It
I loved having an opportunity to visit a local brewery while in Cambodia. I was not familiar with Cambodian beer prior to this visit so I was curious to see how similar it would be to others I have enjoyed around the world. Not surprisingly, beer is beer no matter where you are! The beers I sampled here were all quite tasty, but I liked the Pilsner and the mango IPA the best!
8. Poesiat & Kater Brewery, Amsterdam
What I Did
My Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise ended back in Amsterdam. During this return to Amsterdam, I enjoyed a tour and tasting at the Poesiat & Kater Brewery. After a canal cruise we stopped in this small, relatively new brewery for a tour and tasting. The Poesiat & Kater brewery opened its doors in March 2017. We tasted two different beers with small bite pairings. We also had a brief tour of the small brewery and had some leisure time to relax and enjoy more beer in the pub.
Why I Loved It
This is the last of the many local breweries I visited on my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise that made this list. But just because it’s ranked lower than the others doesn’t mean that I enjoyed it any less. This experience was a more traditional tour and tasting one than some of the others on the list: two beers paired with small bites, and a general tour of the brewery itself. Simple and straightforward, right? But the location is gorgeous and the beers are delicious (the Extra Stout I sampled is probably one of the best stouts I have ever tasted).
9. Beer & Cheese Tasting, Onboard
What I Did
After a soggy morning tour in Willemstad on my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise, we boarded the ship to sail from Willemstad to Amsterdam. Before lunch we were treated to an onboard beer tasting. This one was a beer and cheese tasting, once again led by Dennis. For the third beer, Dennis is good friends with the brewer, so he ad-libbed a bit and called him while we were tasting it. So, the brewer explained about his beer as we were sipping it! It was brewed specially for the celebration of the birth of his first child and is made to last until his son is of legal drinking age.
Why I Loved It
This was a fun experience because we really got familiar with each of the beers we tasted, thanks to the expert guidance of Dennis. He took the time to really explain each beer along the way. It was a relaxing and delicious experience.
10. Beer Tasting, Onboard
What I Did
One last entry from my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise: a tasting of four different beers hosted by the onboard beer expert, Dennis. Dennis was an undeniably invaluable asset on the cruise! He is a local brewer himself and is very knowledgeable about the local breweries through Netherlands and Belgium as well as the brewing process itself. He sailed onboard with us throughout the cruise and also led all onboard beer events. Dennis was always available whenever anyone had questions as well. After all of the fun on the first full day of the cruise, this first tasting was held as we sailed from Rotterdam onto Antwerp.
Why I Loved It
This is one more example of how wonderful the onboard beer experiences were on my Tulip Time for Beer Enthusiasts cruise. As with the earlier entries on this list, this onboard experience was great because we got to hear a lot of great information and background of each beer. We also had plenty of time to sip and savor each beer. Sitting in a small group of newfound friends in the ship’s lounge area also allowed us to relax and enjoy each other’s company while we enjoyed the beer.
Conclusion
Enjoying a delicious, new-to-me beer, while learning more about it or simply enjoying the beautiful surroundings is definitely one of my favorite things to do while traveling. I love to seek out new beer experiences as I travel, and I am happy to see more and more of them available as excursions on cruises.
Links
Curious about what some of my other favorite experiences are? Click the button below to check out my other ‘Top 10’ lists:
Want to learn more about my experiences on each of the cruises covered in this post? Click the buttons below for the full pages for each of the cruises:
Interested in booking your own fabulous cruise? Click the buttons below for further information about Avalon and Azamara cruises:
