Amsterdam- t' Arendsnest

Returning to Amsterdam after 3 years away was like slipping on an old pair of slippers, a comfortable feeling that I was in one of the few places I could happily call home.

After pottering around the Dam square area in the morning, we headed off towards Cafe Gollum for lunch, one of my old stomping grounds, where the heady mix of great Blues Music and great beer put it in my great bars of the world list. Unfortunately I forgot it doesn't open till 4 o'clock. Drat. This particular Dutch cloud did however have a silver lining. Casting my eyes over the road I chanced upon a fine looking beer emporium called the Cracked Kettle. Not only do they have a tremendous selection of beers, but they also do mail order, which is nice to know. The chap behind the counter,it transpired, was from Kirkcaldy in the Kingdom of Fife. It's a wee world.

Moving on from the Cracked Kettle, clutching a couple of newly acquired bottles of my favorite Trappist beer, Westvleteren, we moved on to another great Amsterdam bar, after a pit stop to grab the luggage.

Back in the 70's my cousin Peter used to date a certain Tessa Wyatt of Robin's Nest fame. Our destination today was another nest, the wonderful 't Arend's Nest. At one time beer in Holland was limited to insipid brews like Heineken, the beer that refreshes the parts that other beers can't be arsed to. Then, about 20 years ago, a beeric revolution started in Holland and a number of high quality small breweries popped into existence. Today the number has swelled to around 350 different beers. The unfortunate thing is though, that finding them in a bar is well nigh impossible. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the Belgian beers sold by the likes of Cafe Gollum, but we are in the bloody Netherlands, so some support for the indigenous beers wouldn't be misplaced. That's where Arends Nest is a godsend, perched near the intersection between the Herengracht canal and Herenstraat street, this bar is unique in Amsterdam in that it exclusively sells Dutch beer. Armed with a list supplied by bonny lad at the Crooked Kettle, I went on to sample the delights of Snab, Texelse and De Molen. Wonderful. As we were sitting outside I didn't get to try a sampler they do called a Tasting Flight. This consists of a row of small glasses of various beers and is a good introduction to the beers of Holland.

Sitting outside by the canal, cast your eyes to the other bank, there you'll see the narrowest house in the city. Only just, it is pretty narrow after all. Culture and beer together. Fantastic !

If you're ever in the 'Dam give this bar a go and support the fledgling Dutch beer industry and help it take flight. At least here it's got a nest.

´t Arendsnest
Herengracht 90
1015BS Amsterdam


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