Back at Schiphol

I think stopovers are nice. I like better being a traveller than a tourist, and spending some hours at an airport gives me a great time watching people, sampling local food and getting a glimpse into the area's culture.

Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam is one of the airports I have visited the most. Being a hub for KLM airlines, Schiphol sees a lot of passengers changing planes on their way to a new destination. There are always somebody to meet and talk to, and having a drink or four at one of the bars or restaurants guarantees an interesting conversation.

This time I had nearly two hours to spend at Schiphol. As usual I ended up at the Het Paleis bar, which is also a fine place for snacks and small courses. While wine drinkers have a lot to choose from, there are only three draught beers at Het Paleis at the moment. I chose to leave the Heineken pale lager alone, and I started up with an ale from the Belgian Palm brewery.

Palm Ale is a beer that I was very fond of two years ago. This time I was a little bit disappointed. In the glass this was a nearly coppercoloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt some caramel and sweetness. The caramel was assertive in the mouth with some sweetness and a watery feeling. Unfortunately there was also a metallic taste in the beer, so I was not satisfied with this half litre of Palm.

The third draught beer available was from the Dutch Brand brewery. I visited the southern part of The Netherlands some years ago, so I have had my share of pale lagers from Brand as it was the local brewery. The Brand lagers are not exciting lagers, but they do their trick in warm weather when you are thirsty. At Het Paleis thet could offer Brand Dubbelbock, which was a new beer to me. In the glass this copper coloured beer had nearly no carbonation and a fine, large head. The beer had aromas of plums, while there was caramel and grapes in the mouth with a tiny touch of vodka. I liked this strong beer, and I hope to find it again elsewhere. Brand Dubbelbock is to be recommended!

A bunch of import beers

Mikkeler is one of the most popular Danish craft breweries. Mikkeler Beer Geek Breakfast is a beer brewed for Mikkeler at Nøgne Ø in Norway. It is a dark beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is coffee, while I feel coffee, roasted nuts and some cocoa in the mouth. The finish is bitter with a touch of cold coffee. This is a lovely beer.

Westmalle is one of the Belgian trappist breweries. The Westmalle Tripel beer has 9.5% alcohol, and it is cloudy with a medium sized head. There is nearly no carbonation. In the nose there are fruits, some flowers and malts. I feel malts, sweetness, some peach and a touch of yeast before a partly sour and bitter finish. It is a nice beer.

Amstel Pulse is a Dutch pale lager. I drank the beer from the bottle. In the nose there was some malts, while in the mouth this was a watery beer. It had some sweetness before a tiny touch of hops in the finish. This was a boring pale lager that it is easy to avoid. There are loads of better lager beers around than Amstel Pulse.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a golden, but somewhat cloudy beer in the glass. It has some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel citrus and grass in the nose. In the mouth grapefruit is dominating before a semi bitter finish. This is another lovely beer.

Dutch intermezzo

It is not unusual to end up at Amsterdam's airport Schiphol. The Dutch KLM Airlines use Schiphol as a hub, and a lot of European flights go through this airport.

Earlier this year I had a stopover at Schiphol. The airport has its share of sights including a small branch of the Dutch national museum. The airport is always sizzling with people, so if you like cafe life and people watching, then this place is for you.

As always a bar is interesting for a beer interested person like me. Therefore I ended up at what seemed like a great place, Het Paleis.

Het Paleis has an impressing collection of bottles. One wall is full of them, and it would be an interesting task to taste all available beverages, but I was there to try some beers.

The main beer was something special: A 0 degree Heineken. This is a version of Heineken's pale lager that is supposed to be served and drunk at freezing temperatures in a glass taken directly from the freezer. I felt that the novelty was the big thing here. The beer itself was nearly tasteless. But I must confess something: It stopped my thirst.

Also on tap at Het Paleis was Palm, a Belgian ale. This was more to my liking. A coppery beer with a small whitish head was put it front of me. It tasted nice with malty notes, some caramel and hints of sweetness. Actually, it was so good that I ordered it again and left the Heineken lager behind. Both beers were priced at 5 EUR, and I also had a shot of oude genever, which cost 3.50 EUR.

Right before it was time to board my next flight, I noticed that there was a bar next to the gate. I sat down at this Constellation bar and ordered the witbier they had on tap.

Wieckse Witte was a cloudy beer with a medium sized head. The beer was full of citrus notes, and I felt it was refreshing. I have been drinking a lot of Hoegaarden this year, but I feel that Wieckse Witte can not beat the Belgian witbier. Instead it is a nice alternative if Hoegaarden is not to be found.

As I went to my flight I felt that Schiphol is not a bad airport, but I would like to see better beers available from tap in the bars. The tax free shops were not better in their offerings. The only beers available there were Heineken and Grolsch. But then again: I do not think people travel to Schiphol to drink beer.