[VIETNAM] Is there good Vietnamese beer?

Photo Credited to Effa

The short answer is, yes. Yes, but not much. While sure most think of the big names such as Bia Hanoi and Bia Saigon which are just your typical mass produced average beers. Vietnam before the craft beer craze landed had a large choice of beers. Most of them were average good enough beers that left much for one to desire. Also, some like 333 which taste just awful. 333 to me taste like the beer stripped away at the can and imparted some of its metallic flavors into it. I do not expect much from one of the oldest beer in Vietnam and one that originated in France. Halida is my usual go to for a cheap can but still it is not much. Then there is Bia Hoi, which is quite enjoyable. There is something about the world's cheapest beer that amounts to basically what one in the west would call a table beer that just goes so well with hot, humid days and the food they serve at a Bia Hoi.

NaDa Amber

So what is the good beer? It was last year at quest I had my first try at a good Vietnamese beer. I was fed up with drinking that awful 333 as it was the only thing available in a can and I had been avoiding the other beer. You had to buy or better yet, rent the plastic cup to drink it and I did not think myself responsible enough to hold on to it. However, I went for it and tried this NaDa beer. Their lager was a much better step up probably better than any of the others I had tried to date. It was not until I tried there Amber that I was thrown back. This was good I thought to myself when I first drank. Sure it was more expensive and hell it was worth it to be drinking something with a flavor. Then it disappeared from my life. It was not until I moved to Tay Ho that I found it again at Bia Tay Ta and for a while, that place became my go to for a drink. Even their Bia Hoi was a good Bia Hoi. However, then Furbrew happened, and the rest of the Craft beer explosion spread out, and I have not looked back. Though I will return as I still Enjoy the NaDa Amber.

One beer is hardly a reason to write an article about good Vietnamese beer. Well, no there is another. Another beer I knew about but avoided for, reasons. Partly laziness, mostly because there was craft beer now and I did not see the point. It was not until Alexander from Barett told me that their dark beer was based on a Munich Dunkle and that he had worked on developing the recipes for this

Dai Viet Black

brewery that I had to try this beer now. This beer was, of course, Dai Viet. Their lager was still not the greatest but a step up. Once again it was the usual beer, well unusual to see from an Asian brewery that won me over. The Dai Viet Black was so flavorful and had a good punch of alcohol in it compared to the standard fare of Asian beer.

The answer is there are some decent Vietnamese beers and a beer you could drink all day not get too drunk or empty your wallet. However, when it comes to good Vietnamese beer, there are two, the NaDa Amber and the Dai Viet Black. They may cost slightly more, but they are still cheaper than the western beers, and their Lagers which are slightly elevated from the rest are well within the budget of the cheap expat.








You can find these beers at:
                              (NaDa) Bia Tay Ta- 32/52 Tô Ngọc Vân, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội
                              (Dai Viet) Phố Trịnh Công Sơn- Trịnh Công Sơn, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội