My sojourns along the paths of the Global Village of the 21st Century has been taking me to some of the hidden gems that this treasure chest has to offer. Over the last couple of days, I have been exploring the city for it hidden and not-so-publicised places of interest.
As I ambled along the Damrak (dam) from the Centraal Station, after three dam intersections, tucked away in a small cobblestoned gulley is a small discreet place which has it s own story to tell!!!
Welcome to Gollems!!!! A beer cafe shop. Now, what s so interesting about a cafe shop, Amsterdam is full of them and you can see them everywhere. Well there are bier cafes and there is Gollems!!!! Almost all these shops owe their allegiance to only two brands- Heiniken and Amstel. Just imagine!!!!!!
A not-so-oft-repeated quote comes to my memory.
colours of life are aplenty,
each one showering its own beauty,
what would life be in monochrome
akin to no Romans in the city of Rome??
I know, this was a bad one... who cares as long as it drives home the point and rhymes!!!!
Gollems is the first tasting bier cafe shop of Amsterdam!!!!! Today they stock a mind boggling over 200 varieties of beer!!!!! Yeah yeah... even I had heard of heaven.... just been there!!!!!!
In the ages gone by, when Amsterdam was a bustling trading village, the visiting merchants used to taste beers before ordering for them. That was a different day and a different age!!!! Not really, strictly speaking, Gollems does not offering a free tasting session anymore. But being an avid connoisseur of this Elixir, I struck up a conversation with Joan, the friendly bartender and I got some freebies!!!!
To come to the point, the varieties of beers are amazing!!!! Tastes previously untested, unsavoured, aromas and fragrances (yes.... no wrong choice of words...stink exists in a Kingfisher ...not here). Honey blended beers, wheat beers, beet beers, root beers, rice beers...the list goes on and on!!!!! Some are pretty intoxicating with alcohol percentages going upto 15-18 %!!!!
Priced moderately between 2.50 Euro to the higher side being 4.50 Euro, this place is worth exploring. Don't expect any modernities, no polite service, no aesthetics (if you are not wooden enough), JUST DRINK!!!!!
I was recommended to try out the IJ Breweries (IJ being pronounced as aai) by the manager of my hotel. IJ is a small brewery along the Eastern part of the city near the harbour. They have a special trademark flavour in their beers, distinctly differentiating them from the Heinekens, Amstels, Brands, Leeuws of the competition.
Being a vegetarian, I had to be content munching soaked olives, bread and cheese for company. But then who cares!!!!
Pictures say a thousand words... so here you are!!!!
Enjoy and keep tracking my footprints!!!
sriky
1 comment:
Keep up the good work.
Post a Comment