On The Road With RL Reeves Jr: Oedipus Brewing In Amsterdam Netherlands

In nearly two decades of exploring Amsterdam I’d never ventured north of the river IJ to the old maritime lands of Noord.

Until last week.

After taking the ferry from Centraal Station to Sixhavenweg, I landed and immediately began a long (one mile) walk to Oedipus Brewing.

By many accounts Oedipus is the finest brewery in all of Amsterdam though there is a tiny sub-cult of Butcher’s Tears fans who stridently object to such claims.

Walking through the Noord neighborhood is a blessed relief from regular Amsterdam. Certainly there are people afoot but compared to the parts of the city south of Centraal you may as well be on a steppe in the Caucasus.

It’s peaceful.

Narrow offshoot trails wend their way through dense underbrush, and if I wasn’t thirsty and in need of a strong drink I would gladly branch off the brick footpath to do some exploring.

At the 20 minute mark I arrive onto a blacktop parking lot where Oedipus appears to have put down stumps in a former auto repair shop. Of course it’s all dolled up with quirky ephemera but it’s clearly the home of light industry.

My barmaid, Rosa, is a peach, and happy to walk me through the wide variety of beers her employer has on tap. I’m ready for a session and she’s capable of delivering a sound one.

Over the course of the next few hours I work my way through most of the taps (12) a feat not nearly as impressive as it sounds as Oedipus offers baby pours, perhaps 8oz per serving.

Highlights include ‘Lager Lager Lager’ and ‘Swingers’ a gose that would be the perfect remedy to a hot Louisiana afternoon. If saisons are your bag try their ‘Lekkerbek’ which is infused with dill weed and mustard seeds.

As I made my way around town over the next week I noticed Oedipus enjoys wide distribution in bars and quick marts with Mama, a pale ale, being on nearly every shelf I encountered.

Oedipus adheres to the US tradition of outsourcing their food with a popup outfit called Beef Chief providing a litany of hamburgers. We got a good laugh out of the dish they titled ‘redneck fries’

They would probably be a big hit here in Louisiana.

I’ve been drinking in Noord Holland since the late 90s and it’s refreshing to see all these young, idealistic brewers plying fresh takes on old and new style brews. I still love to hit de Gollem and drink pint after pint of Trappist biers but there is a new wave in Dutch brewing and it’s thrilling to partake in it.

Oedipus Brewing
Gedempt Hamerkanaal 85
1021 KP
Amsterdam, Netherlands

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