Netherlands: 5 tips for drinking beer in Maastricht

Breweries, beer bars and beer shops in Maastricht

If a regular visitor to the Western part of the Netherlands would be dropped in the far south of the province of Limburg he or she would believe to be in another country. Because here the straight and flat green meadows make way for rolling hills. And in a country where hills are a rarity we even call them mountains. Here people talk in a dialect that is so foreign to outsiders it could just as well be spoken somewhere thousands of kilometers away. But it is a beautiful part of the country where people enjoy life. And food. And beer. Because for the beer lover there is plenty to enjoy. On a recent trip I visited five special beer places that I think are worth a stop.

Stadsbrouwerij Maastricht

If you arrive by train and head downtown to the Maas river then Stadsbrouwerij Maastricht (City Brewery Maastricht) should be your first destination. It is housed in an iconic building that for decades housed the De Ridder brewery. The letters of De Ridder can still be seen on the building and if you’ve ever been to Maastricht you will remember this, because the building is next to what is believed to be the oldest bridge in the country, connecting the Wyck neighborhood to downtown Maastricht.

De Ridder started in the nineteenth century and made the locally famous Maltezer Bier. Heineken saw potential in the brewery and bought it in 1982 and made it brew Wieckse Witte (witbier from Wyk). This beer went out of production in 2021.

On that same location a microbrewery was opened in 2018 with an adjacent tasting room. Around ten beers flow from the taps and you can drink these with some wonderful food. What I appreciated too was that for every item on the menu they offer up an accompanying beer. And guess what? One of the beers is the Maltezer. A smooth 6,5% amber beer that goes well with a lot of things on the menu. The latest addition to the core range comes in a pretty blue bottle and is the Mergel Wit. Marl (mergel) forms the soil layer that Maastricht is built on, and this porous rock is also used to filter beer. In this case, a touch of marl has actually been added to the Wit beer.

Best beer shop in Maastricht?

Also in the same block is the tiny, yet well stocked beer store, part of the brewery, where you can find their beers, but also a lot of local things. But not all is local, better known Dutch breweries and great stuff from the rest of the world are on the shelves here too. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough, but this seemed to be the best bottle shop in the city.

De Gouverneur beer tavern

With Belgium being literally a stone’s throw away it is not surprising that Maastricht has a Belgian Beer Café. I say café or tavern because it is much more than a bar. De Gouverneur serves good food and they pour beer from mostly Belgian breweries from over twenty taps, including their own house beer. A fine selection of newer styles, mostly from the rest of the Netherlands, but also the classic Belgian tripels and blondes. 

If you want to go for a bottled beer there is a book that can only be described as a bible. And one of those medieval ones, not the tiny ones you can put in your pocket. A leatherbound monster that is so big that on small tables it’s quite an affair keeping it open to look through it.

Don’t expect the most exciting newer styles of beer in bottles. But all the classics are there. Great Belgian triples, heavy quadruples and a good sour selection. Good beers to go with your food for example. Can you get anything incredible special here? No, but there are definitely some local dishes you can try from their Belgium inspired kitchen. One last thing that is great about De Gouverneur? It opens in the morning.

Tapperij de Poshoorn

Also on the Wyk side of the river is De Poshoorn. I have known this place since my first visits to Maastricht two decades ago. It was then an ABT-café (Alliantie van Biertapperijen), which meant it was a bar with plenty of beery options.

Even though it has decided to no longer be part of this revered list of great bars it remains one of those places that will always have a beer either on tap or in the fridge that you have never had or even heard of. In my case beers from Pravda, Walhalla and their own house Wit beer. But if I walk in today I know it will  be completely different again.

Besides a bar it is also a hotel and a restaurant. Like in most places you can get a lot of local dishes here too, like 'Zuurvlees', a sour beef stew and other tasty stuff.

Gulpener Brouwlokaal, in the vicinity of Maastricht

Not counting Brand beer (Heineken owned and where Lagunitas for the European market is made these days), the biggest brewery in the south of Limburg is Gulpener from you guessed it, Gulpen. A brewery that even though it is one of the larger ones maintains its independence and is an overall sympathetic brewery. On the other side of the brewery is now the Gulpener Café. A light and open space with tables where you can enjoy the beer and food. If the weather is nice you can sit outside on the huge courtyard, and with some luck the hop plants are in full bloom.

The number of taps is impressive, and everything that comes out of it is Gulpener beer. The beers you know but also some experimental beers, often made in the small brewery that is part of the restaurant and where you can look into behind the glass. If you want classics have a Chateau Neubourg from tap, and especially the great Aajt bier, a sour beer that is made next door in Café De Zwarte Ruiter. A real treat for lovers of special beer styles.

The food is all local. We opted for platter of assorted local delicacies like bread, meat cuts, cheese and jam. Wonderful things for not that bad a price. Well worth the short bus ride from Maastricht to Gulpen. The bus stop is literally called Brouwerij and is right in front of the restaurant. Before you leave, visit the little shop for some merchandise or books.

Beer shops in the south of Limburg

I have written a little bit already about the shop adjacent to the Maastrichter Brewery. A larger shop with even more special stuff is in the quaint and beautiful town of Valkenburg, not too far away from Maastricht and reachable directly by both train and bus. For beer in a bar, the Grendelpoort is the best choice in this otherwise very touristy place.

If you want to buy beers to take home with you Bierboutique De Zythotheek is not to be missed. The number of bottles is so immense it makes you wonder if everything is sold before the best before date but you can find things here you won’t find anywhere else. The local selection is great and will give you a good overview of the many breweries in the south of Limburg. So if you want to try that you can fill up your bag, suitcase or car trunk with special and unique stuff. A little piece of heaven for beer lovers.

And there are plenty of other places in Maastricht and surrounding towns that are good beer places. Try Café De Zwaan, Café Falstaff and the amazing Frapé, which I wasn’t able to visit on this trip unfortunately. 

Maastricht remains a different city from the rest of the country, but a pleasant one. 

Author: Martijn Buisman | Picture credits: Martijn Buisman

Except: De Ridder brewery (Picture by Bert Kaufmann Wyck_Maastricht_(2407835958) (CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Updated: 06-10-2024