Beer

Dutch beer is world famous. The most famous brand is Heineken. It's quite cheap, and it tastes cheap too. Foreigners love Heineken, the locals take it for granted.

Most of the major Dutch brands are mass-produced ill-tasting beverages. Drafts like Amstel, Oranjeboom and Dommelsch are an insult to your tastes. Grolsch and Brand offer a better deal. The local brewery Het IJ makes a great beer.

Getting drunk is no problem in Amsterdam. Finding a decent pub is. Most of the pubs in the city centre cater to the tourist market. Avoid them. They are loud, and they are lousy.

So, what are the decent places to hang out? The locals won't tell you. As soon as the tourists tribes move in, they move out. Suffice to say that it helps to leave the beaten track. If your guidebook mentions a certain pub, it's dead.