My last post discussed the delight that is Vietnamese coffee. This post is about the other ubiquitous beverage in 'Nam: beer or "bia", as it is locally known. In Vietnam, bia is bountiful, bia is delicious, bia is cheap. For my husband and I, this felt like paradise.
In Delhi, we are used to going to the state-licensed Wine and Beer Shops to procure our requirements, be pushed around in a crowd of not-always-pleasant alcohol lovers, and deal with other issues such as how to transport our purchases (because they will rarely give you a bag to make life simpler). In Vietnam, buying beer is easy peasy. You can walk right into a grocery store - and you won't be hard-pressed to find one of these - or approach some of the roadside sellers who keep these chilled in their ice boxes. It's as easy as buying a can of Coke or Pepsi in India, and the prices aren't too different either! If memory serves me correctly, you can buy a can of beer for much less than a dollar. And these are just the cans of beer! When it comes to the freshly brewed draught beer, you will often find every seller trying to outdo its competitor, often resulting in prices plummetting much lower. I remember that for the cheaper glasses of draught beer I had, I paid the equivalent of Rs. 9 and Rs. 15. Of course, the sizes of the glasses can vary, but when the beer is fresh and tasty, who's complaining!
In short, bia is a way of life in Vietnam.
Let me clarify though - this isn't an industry catering to the tourists. The Vietnamese love their beer. We walked around a lot in cities and towns in Vietnam, and it was not an unusual sight to see people drinking beer at all times of the day, while sitting in their shops, for example. When in Vietnam, do as the Vietnamese do. So we found ourselves rarely without a beer in our hands. Beer before breakfast, beer at mid-day, beer for lunch, beer while walking down the street (just because it was there to buy and drink!), beer as an evening snack, beer for dinner, pre-bedtime beer. Vietnam spoilt us silly.
The amazing thing about Vietnam is that for such a small country, it packs in such a great variety of beer! So much so that big cities like Saigon and Hanoi have beer brands named after themselves. Saigon even has the distinction of having two varieties of beers named after itself: Saigon Red and Saigon Green.
In Delhi, we are used to going to the state-licensed Wine and Beer Shops to procure our requirements, be pushed around in a crowd of not-always-pleasant alcohol lovers, and deal with other issues such as how to transport our purchases (because they will rarely give you a bag to make life simpler). In Vietnam, buying beer is easy peasy. You can walk right into a grocery store - and you won't be hard-pressed to find one of these - or approach some of the roadside sellers who keep these chilled in their ice boxes. It's as easy as buying a can of Coke or Pepsi in India, and the prices aren't too different either! If memory serves me correctly, you can buy a can of beer for much less than a dollar. And these are just the cans of beer! When it comes to the freshly brewed draught beer, you will often find every seller trying to outdo its competitor, often resulting in prices plummetting much lower. I remember that for the cheaper glasses of draught beer I had, I paid the equivalent of Rs. 9 and Rs. 15. Of course, the sizes of the glasses can vary, but when the beer is fresh and tasty, who's complaining!
In short, bia is a way of life in Vietnam.
Let me clarify though - this isn't an industry catering to the tourists. The Vietnamese love their beer. We walked around a lot in cities and towns in Vietnam, and it was not an unusual sight to see people drinking beer at all times of the day, while sitting in their shops, for example. When in Vietnam, do as the Vietnamese do. So we found ourselves rarely without a beer in our hands. Beer before breakfast, beer at mid-day, beer for lunch, beer while walking down the street (just because it was there to buy and drink!), beer as an evening snack, beer for dinner, pre-bedtime beer. Vietnam spoilt us silly.
The amazing thing about Vietnam is that for such a small country, it packs in such a great variety of beer! So much so that big cities like Saigon and Hanoi have beer brands named after themselves. Saigon even has the distinction of having two varieties of beers named after itself: Saigon Red and Saigon Green.
The wide array of beer brands available in Vietnam. [Image source: Top Ten Beers in Vietnam]
The beer brand found most commonly in Vietnam is Bia Saigon, and in particular Saigon Red. The cans come with a distinctive "333" emblazoned on them. This is a very popular beer, available in both can and bottle form.
333 Beer or Saigon Red
Here we are, consuming our first beers in Vietnam along with our first meal in Vietnam (pho, obviously). The other great thing about beer availability in Vietnam is how easily you can get it with your meal in any restaurant of any size.
You can get Bia Saigon outside of Saigon too. Here we are, drinking some in the seaside town of Hoi An.
Bia Saigon in bottled form in Vespa Bar in Saigon.
Though not as commonly available as its red counterpart, Bia Saigon also has a green variant. Here's a photo of Saigon Green, though ironically not from Saigon.
As I mentioned, each city has a different kind of beer to offer. For Saigon, it was Bia Saigon, and for the town of Hoi An (a beachside destination roughly mid-way between Saigon in the south and Hanoi in the north), it was Biere Larue. Bier Larue was probably my favourite brand of beer in Vietnam. Light and flavourful, it really hit the spot whether with food or just as an afternoon refreshment.
Biere Larue in Hoi An
Here's an interesting tid bit about Biere Larue's history from their website:
"Biere Larue was first brewed in 1909 by a Frenchman named Victor Larue. This brew is the result of a perfect mix of what has given a characteristic flavour to traditional French beer for over the past 100 years. With its attractive dark yellow color and refreshing aftertaste thanks to its finest ingredients and European brewing secret, Biere Larue is perfect for building the friendship connections."
Thank you, Mr. Victor Larue. You certainly helped me built a deeper friendship connection with beer, a hundred years after you formulated your secret brew.
Biere Larue with my other favourite - tender coconut water.
If memory serves me right, this was our cheapest glass of draught beer in Vietnam (in Hoi An) at approximately Rs. 9.
Now we come to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi, like Saigon, has a brand of beer called Hanoi beer, available of course in both canned and bottled form.
Hanoi beer cans.
Exploring Hanoi with Hanoi Beer
But that isn't even the highlight when it comes to beer in Hanoi. The real discovery we made was that Hanoi has a famous street corner that comes alive at night, with tiny stools spilling out from packed restaurants out on to the street. With people sitting on these stools, drinking mug after mug of freshly brewed draught beer, which has come to be known as Bia Hoi Ha Noi.
Yummy draught beer: bia hoi hanoi.
Which animal would you like to eat along with your draught beer tonight?
Views from the famous street corner offering the freshest draught beer in Hanoi.
You can lose yourself in a crowd of locals and tourists alike in Hanoi, drink some of the best draught beer around, eat delicious preparations of meat or seafood, and if you're lucky, you can even catch a great live act. We saw a Vietnamese band doing excellent covers of popular hits. We also witnessed a one-man pop-up show involving a man in orange clothes doing some pretty neat magic tricks. All on this bustling street corner in Hanoi.
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In my days in 'Nam, I was like an excitable monkey, constantly shouting "Bia! Bia! Bia!" Bia was everywhere, and so easy to buy and drink. Go to Vietnam if you love beer. And bring me back some.
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