Most students are very fond of having a beer now and then. Personally, ever since the craft beer trend emerged, I adore exploring hotspots and browsing for new ones. Below, I present to you: five golden oldies and must try beer experiences!
1. Brewpub De Hemel
Let’s start off with a classic brewery and one of my favourites: De Hemel. Especially in the spring and summer is the centrally located terrace a must go to. De Hemel offers its guests a perfect set of craft beers. I can highly recommend the “High Beer”: this beer tasting is excellent for both beer lovers and first timers. In combination with some delicious bites you’ll receive six different beers. Insider tip: first get a picnic basket at Bairro Alto (opposite of De Hemel) and fill your stomach with some delicious sandwiches before having a beer tasting or just a beer at De Hemel.
> De Hemel | |Franseplaats 1, Nijmegen
2. Brewpub STOOM
STOOM, located in the old Honig factory at the place where the steam was produced for the machines of the factory, is a cool brewpub. In close collaboration with Oersoep, a brewery also located in the Honig factory, STOOM offers a fine set of craft beers. In addition, STOOM serves elegant beers from small breweries from the Netherlands and abroad. Get some magnificent beer in combination with a complementary tasty cheese and/or meat platter. If you’ve always wanted to have a look in a brewery, here’s your chance! STOOM offers a guided tour with a beer tasting every Sunday at 15:00 hrs. Bonus tip: every year in September Oersoep organizes the Oersoep Craft Beer Festival at the Honig factory grounds for which small breweries from the Netherlands and abroad are invited to serve their craft beers.
> STOOM | Waalbandijk 14D, Nijmegen
3. Café in de Blaauwe Hand
This café is a must go for history seekers. Café in de Blaauwe Hand (translated: in the blue hand) has been a café since 1542. Weird name, you say? Yes, there’s a fun story connected to this: this building dates back to around 1320 when it was used as a cloth hall (Dutch: Lakenhal), a place where people dyed their fabrics with the colour indigo. Since its opening as a café, visitors were fabric dyers and that’s how it received its special name. Closely located to the St. Stevenskerk, it’s not a surprise that they serve the Stevensbier on tap. Besides this unique beer, it has a nice beer menu with for everyone’s taste something to enjoy.
> Café in de Blaauwe Hand | Achter de Hoofdwacht 3, Nijmegen
4. Café Samson
A favourite of many citizens of Nijmegen is Café Samson. Their slogan: ‘a café how a café is supposed to be’. And that’s the ambiance you can expect if you go here. Café Samson offers over 100 beers and that makes it an admirable beer café. Besides 14 beers from tap they have 11 extra taps that change throughout the year, with special attention to Dutch beers like Van Moll, Jopen and Oedipus. The Samson family have owned a pub since 1925 and since the 1950s they’ve been located at the Houtstraat 4. This classic pub is a must for everyone who wants to experience a traditional Dutch pub! They also have an app ‘Café Samson’ (on iOS/Android) where you can see the beers they’re offering, with some background information (for the true beer lovers)
> Café Samson | Houtstraat 4, Nijmegen
5. BEER & bites
BEER & bites, ranked no. 49 in the Café Top 100 in 2018, is a craft beer pub with 14 beers from tap and over 60 craft beers in bottle. All waiters have a Beer education (yes, it really does exist!) and can explain every detail of each beer to you. Co-founder of BEER & bites is Danny van der Pluijm (also the founder of Irish pub The Shamrock – a traditional pub with live music and sports) welcomes you and as an international beer sommelier, he receives high scores at beer tap competitions. For instance, he won the regional competition and became the best “tapper” of Nijmegen. Indulge in a beer at BEER & bites! Synergy members can drink special beers for the price of normal beer on Wednesdays. On other days you can expect a discount of 15%, so get that card!
> BEER & bites | Priemstraat 9, Nijmegen
Tip: Craft beer shop de Bierhoeder
Rather stay inside during this cold weather or have a beer at the Waal beach in spring? ‘The most quirky craft beer shop’ offers a wide variety of craft beers (read: hundreds of different beers!). Located at Bloemerstraat 86, Nijmegen.
Winelovers pay attention: Lebowski
If you’re not into beers or are more in the mood for wine, have a look at Lebowski. This cute wine bar is specialised in wines and it is the perfect place to have a “borrel”. Located at Bloemerstraat 84, Nijmegen.
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