With a population of just over half-a-million, Den Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands and the seat of the countries government and courts - where all the important stuff goes on whilst Amsterdam concentrates on entertaining its multitude of visitors.
It's home to a couple of micro breweries, which I headed to check out.
Right in the heart of the city, at Riviervismarkt 1, is the Fiddler brew pub. This is a great place for anyone with a tinge of nostalgia for the Firkin pub chain from the UK in the '80's and '90's. It's a large place, with wood dominating inside, upturned casks used as tables and a brew-kit visible through a glass screen - all reminiscent of some of the Firkin pubs that I drank in years ago.
A few too many Dog Bolter ales were probably sunk at a regular spot, the Fourpence & Firkin in Leicester, at a time when I hadn't worked out how lethal 6% beers could be. So perhaps my fond memories are a little blurred, but I liked the lived-in, scruffy feel of the pubs and the numerous on-site breweries that the chain operated played a big part in me always heading to a brewpub whenever a place I visit has one. Sadly the Firkin chain was brought in 1999 by Bass who ceased brewing then gradually changed the sites into O'Neills, Goose or, worst of all, Scream pubs.
Here at the Fiddler things are distinctively British, from the beers on handpulls to a red telephone box. Seven beers are brewed, 5 in cask and 2 for keg dispense.
Heading down towards the railway station, De Paas (Dunne Bierkade 16a) is a traditional beer cafe, on a quiet canal-side street. With the sun shining, I grabbed a table on the barge that is moored just across from the bar and drank a wonderful Rodenbach Caractere Rouge, a sour red ale which worked well in the warm weather. With a pleasant white-tiled interior and a list of some 180 bottles, De Paas is a must for beer fans who find themselves in Den Hague.
Next for me was an epic hike through the industrial wilderness of the cities suburbs to get to Kompaan Brewing (Saturnusstraat 55, 2516AE Den Haag). It's around a 30 minute walk from the rail station and requires a map. The last thing I expected after walking along almost deserted streets was to find a party in full swing at the brewery, with hundreds of folks along the quay of these old docks, a band playing and multiple food vendors cooking for the masses. It looks as though this is a regular occurrence with posters advertising something special each weekend.
The bar (very cool, made from an old shipping container)
had 20 taps on it with a mix of their own brews alongside a number of small breweries from the Netherlands and beyond. With a 15 minute queue for the bar when I arrived, I figured I'd just stay for the one, but queues subsided as the evening wore on and those smoked beers and hefty imperial stouts on a fantastic beer list looked more irresistible. Just the one, turned into ticking off half the beers, staying until the food vendors had run out of food and being a little less clear-headed on the walk back to the train station. Kompaan may be busy and off any beaten tourist track, but it's well worth making the effort for. (Beware, open from Thursday to Sunday only, currently 15-22hrs and no cash at the bar - card only).
http://www.fiddler.nl/
http://www.depaas.nl/
http://kompaanbier.nl/uk-loves-kompaan
My travels took me to Einhoven, en-route to a music festival in nearby Tilburg. The downfall of my bar crawl around the fifth largest city in the Netherlands was that all the bars I encountered had far too many appealing beers on offer, reducing me to checking out a paltry three places.
First up was the brewery tap of 100 Watt, Eindhoven Stadsbrouwerij (Bleekweg 1). This is pretty new 10hl brewpub set up in an old factory. They have 12 of their own creations on tap, with more available in bottles, covering most styles, from Pilsner to Belgian triple to stout. I had a tasty, hoppy American Pale, followed by a dangerously drinkable 8% Dutch dubbel, '75 Watt', which completely disguised its strength.
Next on my list was Van Moll (Keizersgracht 16A), top-rated spot in the city on many beer lists. Wow! This is a great place, set in an old office with the brewery in the basement & bar above. The selection on tap consisted of 12 Van Moll beers and 12 guests, with a superb bottle list for those uninspired by the 24 taps.
'Black Metal Manilla' jumped out at me, a great black IPA from Van Moll, whilst I also sampled a more mellow beer in the same style from Estonia's Pohjana Brewery.
After moving on for a spot of pizza and a bit of Euro football on a big screen, I stepped into Drinkers Pub (Kerkstraat 11). This is a narrow but cavernous place with a really, really long bar.
Scribbled names on the beer engines were tough to read, but the beer menu was amazing, with pages set aside for beer writers recommendations. First choice here was a brown ale from local brewer Oldskool, a cuckoo brewer using local breweries spare capacity to make their beers. This particular brew, 'Ja, ik wil', was a wedding special and a pleasing, malty, bitter brown. Then, with a combination of infantile attraction to a bit of bad language and intrigue for an unusual style, I spotted the salt beers from the Fuck You Brewing Co. They came with a little sachet of 'craft' salt attached to the bottle neck, each of three beers utilising a different worldwide salt. The barman's enthusiasm about these tempted me straight into the saltiest, 'This ain't Salt Lake City'.
And I really can't decide if I liked it or not... I reckon a 15cl sample would be great, but my fondness for it wore off as I worked my way through the bottle. I began to wonder why I picked the saltiest one... I think I was looking a little green and queasy by the end of it. Great, interesting idea, but I think next time I come across salt-enhanced beer I will share it and perhaps try it before I've got a bellyful of other ales and pizza.
