What a great vibe at the Butcher’s Tears Brewery and Taproom in Amsterdam. Not boring!
Everything about Butcher’s Tears is very not boring.
On a sunny Friday afternoon I was in the neighborhood of the Amsterdam Zuid train station. Just recently I had read about the interesting lineup of beers that the brewer of Butcher’s Tears makes. Heavily influenced by both old English and Scandinavian beer traditions, the list of creations spans from English ales, milds, bitters, porters and Burton ale, to smoked farmhouse ales after traditions in the roots of the Swedish brewer. In the mean time, Dutch traditions have entered the mix, with incarnations of the Princessebier and German influences (also at the basis of the Scandinavian beers) are present. This all does not mean that they don’t brew the occasional Belgian strong golden ale or IPA. Now close to a decade old, the quality can be called mature, but the beers are far from boring.
Punk mixed with hints of horror
The vibe at the taproom was a wonderful combination of the music, with the shiny white tiles that reminded me of bathrooms. Black tears hang from the ceiling and on some of the tiles stuff was written or drawn. The furniture is basic, which suited the atmosphere well. All in all, this reminded me a bit of the scenery set in season two of American Horror Story. Although some might call that slightly creepy, I call it awesome and it is not unlikely that I will be back. Again: not boring.
I had just taken the first sip of my Spinkie Den from tap. The funky sour notes from their home yeast were put on a nicely firm and somewhat biscuit-like malt body. Still suprised by what flowed over my tongue I was wtaching the brewer move in some heave looking box through the back door. It was a hand pump, with a cask underneath! As that is not so common in the Netherlands, the decision about beer number two was made easy.
I wanted to see where that pump and cask came from (admittedly, the men’s room was there too, so…) so I went to the back. There was another room, clearly very suited to host a party in the same year-round-Halloween fashion. Even more exciting was the view of the open fermentation tank! Apparently, once owned by Champagne manufacturer Moët & Chandon, found by the brewer on a scrap yard in Belgium. I’m glad it ended up here!
More to offer
Butcher’s Tear are not only worthy of your attention because of their tasting room and beer aroma. They offer more. Closer to the city center in Amsterdam there is a tap room as well: Tears Bar. I haven’t been there, but the stories are promising.
While I was there, the posters were still up for a Czech Pivo Fest that had recently taken place and next week (May 21, 2022) the next event is on the calendar: Franconian Anstich Fest, a festival celebrating Fränkische Gemütlichkeit and German beer styles. These kind of beer festivals are so much more intersting than your typical “every brewery just shows up and you can sample whatever they please to bring”. In my humble opinion, again: not boring!
If you get the chance: sample their beers. If there is any possibility to make a chance: pay them a visit!
Tasting Craft Beer 
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