The Dordrecht Beer and Wine Tour

The Laughing Monk is the perfect place to start your stroll. With as many as 17 different beers on tap and a special Trappist collection, beer lovers are sure to get their money's worth. Drink the Dordrecht draft beer Sint Sura here, named after the saint who, according to local legend, had the Grote Kerk built. Follow Voorstraat towards the center, at the intersection with Visstraat turn left.

If you're in the mood for a nice glass of wine, drop by Brut Food & Wine bar. Here you can get acquainted with a unique selection of wines in the bar or in the beautiful city garden behind the building. Looking for a nice wine & food combination or a tasting? The crew will be happy to tell you more about their favourite wines and food. Or opt for a High Wine for a guaranteed pleasant afternoon!

You can recognise House De Sleutel by its red shutters. The building was built in 1652 for the then owner of brewery De Sleutel. A plaque with a key can be seen in the façade. Originally, this building was much deeper and extended all the way to the rear of Varkenmarkt. The actual brewery was located on that side. The Groenmarkt side was used as a residence. When you walk through the adjacent alley, you will see the current city brewery.

On and around the Scheffersplein are various catering establishments from restaurants to cafés. In the summer months, you can sit down at one of the various terraces. At Stadscafé Rijke, on the other side of the square, you can enjoy real Dordrecht beer from the Ebontree brewery or other special beers. Take a seat at the bar or on the cosy terrace.

At this bistro, you can enjoy a good glass of wine at cocktail hour or reserve a High Wine for 2. During an approximately 2-hour arrangement, they serve a glass of bubbly with an amuse bouche upon entering. This is followed by 3 dishes with 3 matching wines.

The Wijnstraat is a reminder of the prosperous wine trade. It flourished because of the extension of the staple right in the Middle Ages. Wine cellars could be found all over the city, but most wine traders kept their cool, damp cellars here on the Wijnstraat. Between the early Middle Ages and the end of the 17th century, the wine trade brought Dordrecht considerable prosperity. The staple right determined that all wine coming from Germany had to be unloaded in Dordrecht and had to stay in Dordrecht for at least a week before being sold. Dordrecht had the monopoly of the Rhine wine trade, but several French wines were also traded.

More places that remind of the days when Dordrecht was a thriving wine city. The Wijnbrug is the connection between Voorstraat and Wijnstraat. When you walk up the Wijnbrug, the Wijnhaven flows underneath you. From the Wijnbrug/Wijnhaven you can take a tour through the Dordrecht inner city in an open whisper boat, highly recommended!

Along the Kuipershaven, the coopers who made the barrels for the wine that was traded through Dordrecht lived. The many warehouses still remind us of those days. The most striking is Oldenborgh's warehouse, with its neck or spout gable at numbers 17-18. Beneath the lifting beam of this former wine warehouse, two satyrs can be seen as carrying figures. These mythological figures were followers of the Greek wine god Bacchus.

This is where the ships arrived in the early Middle Ages. Upon arrival in Dordrecht, the 'wine rower' came on board to determine the contents of the barrels with a yardstick, the wine rod. Brokers established contacts between sellers and buyers. Tax and toll registers from the 16th century show that in those days, one to one and a half million litres of wine were transported! Enjoy the Drierivierenpunt on a terrace at the Groothoofd with a glass of wine or beer!

If you walk a little further, you can enjoy a Dordt beer from the Dordtse Brouwers on the beautiful terrace of the Bolwerck. On the terrace and in the restaurant, you have a beautiful view of the rivers Noord, Merwede and Oude Maas. There are delicious snack platters on the menu or enjoy a nice lunch.

The former warehouse Bordeaux (Wijnstraat 61) refers to wines from France. Almost all the houses in this street had wine cellars, where the wines could mature before being sold.

From this point you will pass 3 catering establishments in close succession for beer or wine.
With 14 beers on tap and about 150 beers in bottles/cans it may be clear that DE TIJD is all about beer, beer and more beer. For over thirty years DE TIJD is located in a beautiful monument from 1603 in the heart of the historic city center. Try the Dordtse Schapekopje beer from Stadsbrouwerij Dordrecht here. Or do a beer tasting!

Walk into this beautiful building and feast your eyes. Het Magazijn is more than a bar and restaurant with pop-up stores and a gallery. With nice weather, you can enjoy a High Wine or a local beer from Ebontree, Dordtse Brouwers or Paap in the beautiful courtyard garden.

You can choose from no fewer than 150 wines in the Red, White & Rose shop or enjoy a glass of wine in the wine bar. With a choice of more than 60 wines by the glass to order, there's always something tasty for you! Or be surprised by a blind-tasting trio, a High Wine or rather a Dordts Schapekopje beer.

From the Steegoversloot, walk under the gate and you will pass the Hof van Nederland. This museum is worth a visit for history lovers. Here, you will have a front row seat to the First Free States Assembly of 1572, experience the early Golden Age of 14th-century Dordrecht and learn about the influence of the Synod of Dordrecht.

On the corner of Hofstraat/Nieuwstraat is the Berckepoort building (1530), one of the Netherlands' oldest monumental residences. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was the home with wine cellars of the Tack and Berck families, wine merchants from Germany. Berck must have been an important man, because he received guests like William of Orange and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

You are almost at the end of this Dordt Beer and Wine Tour. At Café de Vrienden you can have your last (special) beer and enjoy a delicious drink board.

Would you like to take home some Dordrecht beer or wine? These are available at a few addresses in the city centre. For example, drop by Slijterij van Pelt. Here they sell Schapekopje Beer, Ebontree Beer, De Dordtse Brouwers but also wine from the local winery De Bilderhof. Maybe you would like to visit this winery, check out the Taste of Bilderhof.

Also at Wijnhuis 167 you can buy the special Dordt wine from the Bilderhof and more than 400 varieties of other wine from around the world. But you can also buy the Dordts Blondje of the Dordtse Brouwers here. Drop in for good advice on wine-food combinations or a wine tasting.

This is where the tour ends. We hope you have enjoyed the route and the many cafés and terraces. You have probably already bought some (Dordtse) beer and wine, but do you also know the Dordtse jenever, gin and liqueur of Distilleerderij Rutte? You can stop by on your way home, the shop is located at Vriesestraat 130.

Didn't get around to buying a Dordrecht beer or wine during the route? In the store of VVV Dordrecht you will find the Dordtse Schapenkop beer in nice gift packages. But also red, white and bubbly wine from De Bilderhof together with a nice wine glass. Take a look around the souvenir store and take home a nice souvenir of Dordrecht.