Yeah it’s in a windwill, and yeah that’s cool, but what I really liked about this place was that we were practically the only English speakers visiting. I like to find the places where the locals drink, and this one is damn near close. I’m sure they get thier share of tourists, but not nearly as many as the places in the Red Light District. Inside the taproom there’s a medium sized bar, and ample seating along the windows, affording a comfortable view of bike and automobile traffic outside. The brewery is a bit of a walk from central A’dam, but since it’s along ’t Ij river it’s a pretty nice walk. Inside there are hundreds of beer bottles lining the walls, and the more common brewania decor is there as well. On tap was about 5 beers, with a couple more offered in bottles. I had to buy a shirt since it had both an ostrich and a windmill on it. Great place to drink.

Can’t go to Amsterdam without checking this place out. Very smoky and PACKED, but some excellent beer to be had. Last visit January 2002.

What a great place to drink beer! In a windmill, with all the beautiful 't IJ beers available. OK, variety is a little soft, and the hours are scarce to say the least, but what a great place to drink beer!

A fair walk out of Amsterdam’s very centre, but a friendly, very laid-back place. Watch for the limited opening hours though. They had 6 beers on draught when I was there, but unfortunately not the Vlo which I had to get a bottle from in a store as they don’t sell any at the brewery. Still, I considered it a nice experience, the beers are very solid and great to try from the tap: as fresh as it gets. Minimalist decoration, only a bar, picnic tables and a bottle collection. A nice place where time flows and locals seem to have a good time rather than tourists. Perhaps not worth the detour if you don’t have a couple of days in Amsterdam though.

(Visited 11/2011): After seeing this place during a bus tour we decided to walk to it from the Hard Rock, which turned out to be over 2 miles. It is located off Zeeburgerstraat near the bridges and right on the water, easily found thanks to the windmill. Outside there are communal picnic tables. Inside there is one relatively large room with an L-shaped bar in the rear of the space where the throngs of people line up to get their beer. There is a board listing the beers available, plus a chalkboard showing what seasonal they have. As for the beers, they have around 6 available including the aforementioned seasonal. On my visit I tried the ’tIJB ok and and ’t IJ IJndejaars, both of which are above average. Service was about as good as it could be considering the mass of people trying to get beer and disorganized system for getting your drinks. We did not have any food on the visit. Overall this place is worth seeking out for someone wanting to mesh with the locals (very, very closely) and have a craft beer from Amsterdam.

Bustling brewpub that’s a decent walk from the centre. ’t IJ attracts large numbers of tourists and locals alike. Beers are decent and snack food available. Staff are efficient and no problems getting served quickly and with a smile. To be fair I wouldn’t write home about this place, so I’ve written about it on Rate Beer instead.

On the outskirts of town, but a nice bar/brewpub with tons of outside seating available as well as some spots inside. RIght near the water, so there’s a nice view. Staff was a bit short with us, but not terrible. Beers were alright, nothing special. Don’t really need to go back here again, though.

‘t IJ brewery sits by a windmill in the eastern part of Amsterdam, set back from a busy crossroads, and within easy walking distance from the city centre on a sunny Sunday at the beginning of April. There’s a large outdoor seating area, which was quite busy when we arrived mid-afternoon after visiting the interesting resistance museum en route. Inside there’s an L-shaped tasting room framed by the bar, with lots of standing room but not many tables. It’s quite basic, half tiled in white, with an array of empty bottles from just about every brewery I could name on narrow shelves above. The symbol of the brewery is an ostrich and this theme is carried through to the broken ostrich egg lampshades. There was a good range of IJ beers available – Plzen (not actually a pilzen), Natte, Ijwit, Zatte, Columbus, Struis (ostriches again!) and a seasonal (Paasij) on tap, all priced between E1.90 and E2.50; bottles at E2.90; plus fruit juice, mineral water and cheese. The recommended local soft cheese, made from sheep’s milk and a bit like Camembert, was good but at E5 for a small round not as reasonably priced as the beers. The bar staff were friendly, knowledgeable and efficient, even when faced with an extremely busy bar after the brewery tour finished. Unfortunately we missed it but there’s a free tour at 1600 on Sundays and Fridays. Oh, and when we were there was a book on sale celebrating 25 years of the brewery.

Visited this place twice whilst I was in Amsterdam in Oct 09. Its a little way from the centre but as Loz and I was cycling pretty much everywhere not a problem and it looked like the trams came really close to this place. I must say the first thing that struck me about this place was how spartan it was inside, but I rather liked that and enjoyed the space and lack of clutter that are ofetn in other bars for no apparent reason. The service was very good and the beers and also beer prices were amongst the keenest that I’ve seen anywhere for the strength and quality of the beer. I particularly enjoyed the Columbus but to be honest there was little too fault in any of the range. We loaded up the cycle panniers when we left on the first visit and did exactly the same a couple of days later. Excellent bar and one of my favourites in Amsterdam.

Ratty inside, nice outside in the garden. Service means lining up to buy your beers inside. Nice beers, though, and quite a few to try. Had a great time chatting with people I met outside. My #2 place in Amsterdam after Arendsnest.