When you say beer, you say Cafe de Toeter. A specialty beer café with a wide range of whisky, run by Maik van Heerd and Arianne Vreeburg. On the Turfsingel in Stad.
Beer and whisky
Years ago, De Toeter came across the catering couple's path by chance. They were looking for a suitable location when they both fell in love with the brown café. This had to be it. They turned it into a beer and whiskey café. With 19 beers on tap, and many more in bottles, and a choice of around 400 different whiskies. That is Maik's hobby: 'We once started with 50 species on the menu, but there quickly became many more. A hobby that got out of hand, so to speak.
There is literally everything on the beer menu. Many Belgian beers, but also German, English, American, Dutch and of course Groningen beer. For a few years now they have even been brewing their own beer.
And are you not yet familiar with specialty beers, but would you like to know more? Beer tastings are regularly organized where you can taste blond, double, Trappist, abbey, craft, IPAs, stouts, sours and ale beers. You will also be taken into the history of these beers.
Pub quiz
What De Toeter is also known for is the pub quiz. In 2005 they started with the first quiz on Wednesdays, but due to its success they soon added a second one per week, on Sundays. Since then, the place has been full of quiz enthusiasts twice a week. They all come up with the questions themselves.
Sailing a boat
It is deep opposite the café and is also used. 'We were like: if you went to Utrecht or Leiden, all sorts of things were always happening on the water. That's what we wanted too," says Maik. 'Then we bought an old barge. That sailing was actually an immediate success. Particularly among students. Then came another vletje and also some sloops that people could steer themselves, and we still do that now.'
'Just a good bite'
And when you have had a nice afternoon sailing, you can have a bite to eat in the café. 'It's nothing fancy,' says Maik, 'but you can just get a good bite from us. Groningen fries and a burger with meat from De Groene Weg, for example, or a good pork tenderloin satay or spare ribs. We also have vegetarian dishes such as an eggplant steak, breaded cauliflower in miso, things like that.'
Cafe de Toeter is open seven days a week. For more information, go to cafedetoeter.nl.
