Introduction
	Index Apeldoorn Arnhem Doetinchem Ermelo Harderwijk Heukelum Lievelde Nijmegen Wageningen Zevenaar Drenthe Flevoland Friesland Gelderland Groningen Limburg Noord Brabant Noord Holland Overijssel Utrecht Zeeland Zuid Holland
This page lists beer pubs in the Dutch province of Gelderland.
Breweries in Gelderland Brewery location type Stadsbrouwerij de Hemel Nijmegen brewpub Onder de Linden Wageningen microbrewery Burg Bierbrouwerij Ermelo brewpub Brouwerij Erve Kots Lievelde brewpub Brouwerij Het Kuipertje Heukelum microbrewery

Introduction Arnhem, as I'm sure many of you are aware, was unlucky enough to be the site of a fairly major battle in 1944. It was bad news for the town, which suffered severe damage. If you've visited a few Dutch towns, you'll know that at their centre is usually a large square. The standard arrangement is big church one end, fancy town hall at the other, wall-to-wall pubs inbetween. Well, the church is still there (see photo). Unfortunately the rest of the square consists of 1950's buildings that are so bland, I've already forgotten what they look like. And I didn't spot much in the way of pubs, either. So what should be the focal point of the city is strangely dead. But don't despair, because there are plenty of refreshment opportunities elsewhere in the centre. What most interests my sons about Arnhem is their unique (in Holland) form of public transport: trolleybuses.

Café Sint Jan
Jansplein 2, 6811 GD Arnhem. Tel. 026-445 5622
Opening hours: Sun - Wed 11:30-01:00 Thu - Sat 11:30-02:00
Number of draught beers: 5
Number of bottled beers: +-10
Regular draught beers: Amstel Pils (5%) Wieckse Witte (5%) Palm (5%) Kasteel Dubbel Kasteel Tripel
Food: Meals, snacks.
Jansplein - with an unusual heaxagonal church at its centre - is lined with pubs. I like the way just about all the old town (or where the old town was berfore the war) of Arnhem has been pedestrianised. A shame they haven't done the same in Amsterdam. Café Sint Jan manages to occupy most of one side of the square, yet be surprisingly compact once inside. Yes, the interior is oddly inefficient, the bar counter taking up most of the floor space. Table seating is confined to one of those irritating two-steps up railed off jobs that seem designed to use space poorly. There was something - I'm not quite sure what - that reminded me of fake Irish pubs. But obviously it's nowhere near as awful as that. The draught beer choice, with two Kasteel beers, is slightly idiosyncratic. It makes a change, doen't it? The service was exrtemely friendly.
Rating: ***	Public transport:

Café Moortgat
Ruiterstraat 35, 6811 Arnhem. Tel. 026-445 0393
Opening hours: Mon - Thu 12:00-01:00 Fri - Sat 12:00-02:00 Sun 16:00-02:00
Number of draught beers: 12
Number of bottled beers: +-100
Regular draught beers: Gulpener Pils (5%) Gulpener Dort (6%) Gulpener Korenwolf (5%) Gulpener Gerardus (6%) De Koninck (5%) Leffe Dubbel Hoegaarden (5%)
Food: Snacks.
Ruiterstraat is one of the streets off St Jansplein. Moortgat is a long, low building on the corner of an alleyway. Despite being pretty central, this is a fairly quiet spot. Inside there is, as you would expect, plenty of dark wood and beer memorabilia. More unusually for a specialist beer bar, it has a billiard table. The Dutch type, without pockets. Billiard tables are getting pretty rare in Amsterdam, pushed out by the more tourist-friendly pool table. But I digress. Bare wooden floorboards, and simple, mismatched furniture (several benches that look suspiciously like pews) complete the picture. My favourite old advert - the black and white Dort sign portraying a blackend miner holding a big glass of beer. The beer selection reminds you how close the German border is: there are six Weizens, including the wonderful Aventinus. Other interesting items include Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Achel trappist and a selection of Baltika beers from Russia. And I almost forgot the most important point - the prices. No draught beer is more than 2.50 euros. Aventinus only 3.75 for a half litre.
Rating: *****	Public transport:

© Ron Pattinson 1995 - 2006

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