One of the world's most famous beers, easily recognisable by its iconic swing-top Pilsner bottle, has been brewed in Enschede since 1895. Guided tours last 2½ hours and take visitors through everything from the beer's history to production, bottling, branding and tasting. Its blonde De Klok beer is a nod to the original brewery near Groenlo where the beer was first brewed in 1615. De Klok merged with De Enschedesche Bierbrouwerij in 1922 to become the Grolsch brewery.
Above the brewery, the Grolsch Living History (free admission) displays Grolsch memorabilia collected by a passionate Groslch fan for the last 25-odd years.
The Grolsch brewery was based in the industrial Roombeek district, north of the historic centre, until 2000 when it was severely damaged by an explosion in a neighbouring fireworks factory. Its new, state-of-the-art brewery (2004) lies on the far-eastern outskirts of town near Boekelo. From Enschede train and bus station take bus No 506 (€4, 15 minutes) to the Usselerhofweg stop, a 10-minute walk away.
