I was expecting De Bierkoning to be awesome, but it exceeded my wildest expectations.  It’s about the same size as Bert’s Bierhuis in Utrecht, but several times more dense.  In fact, it’s claustrophobic with every available inch of space covered in bottles, with shelves going up to the ceiling.  And crates of loose bottles tucked under the lowest shelf.

I was mostly looking for tripel (since we’re starting to think about what we want to brew when we get back to Florida in June).  So I got as far as the Belgian section and hunted around, finding all the beers on my list.  My basket was getting heavy, and I knew I’d have a long journey home, so I only got a few other bottles.

But then I saw the American section and decided to take a look, just for fun.  And I was amazed to see a better selection of West coast beers than I’d ever seen in Florida.  They had a selection of beers from Russian River, Lost Abbey, and others I’d never seen in a shop.  Unsurprisingly, the prices were sky-high (€29 for a bottle of Supplication! There wasn’t a price tag for Pliny the Elder, and I didn’t want to ask…).  So, with great restraint, I only got a reasonably priced bottle from Lost Abbey (Red Barn Ale).

On my way out of the shop, I spent more time at the cash register and had time to appreciate their glassware selection.  Like the beer, the glasses are on dense shelves all the way to the ceiling, with what looked like hundreds of different kinds of glasses.  I briefly considered buying some American-style pint glasses (since I haven’t been able to find anything that large here), but decided I didn’t want to have to manage heavy beer and delicate glass on the same trip.