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Lager is king in South East Asia… or at least it was. Craft beer has made its way to the region and beer drinkers are rejoicing. No longer are fans of the hops restricted to Singha, Saigon Special or Tiger. There’s a movement afoot and Vietnam is leading the charge. This trip to Vietnam we focused on the south and the central part of the country. Here, I give you the lowdown on the craft breweries south of the DMZ. Mot, hai, ba, yo!
Ho Chi Minh City
In Ho Chi Minh City alone, drinkers can find six microbreweries serving up craft brews to suit just about every taste. Pink sours, IPAs with punch and ales showcasing local ingredients – you won’t go thirsty here.
Heart of Darkness
After the long haul, the last thing I wanted to do was go outside. The bed was calling me. Husbando, on the other hand, was keen beans to hit the first of many craft breweries on our trip: Heart of Darkness. Named and themed after Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novel, Heart of Darkness is a heavy hitter in the Vietnam craft beer world. The range is impressive; from fruity goses to heavy triple IPAs to imperial stouts and everything in between. The taproom in District 1 is part renovated shop house, part haunted industrial factory. I’m so glad I dragged my tired bones down to this place. Pull up a stool at the long bar and order a tasting flight to sample all the good things Heart of Darkness has to offer. The staff know their beers, and are happy to chat. You can order a snack (like edamame or chicken wings) to compliment the beers, or go the whole hog and order yourself a feast – the food is great!
Try: the Hot and Cold Chilli/Cucumber Pilsner. Just do it. It’s a fantastic combination of spicy and refreshing in the beer, and each sip slides perfectly between the two.
Find it: 31D Ly Tu Trong, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Pasteur Street Brewing Company
This little brewery is named after the street it grew on – Pasteur Street! Specialising in American style craft beer made with local and foreign ingredients, Pasteur Street Brewing Co also have an impressive range of beers. Saisons, porters, IPAs and wheat ales – oh my! The District 1 taprooms are the definition of ‘hole in the wall’; tucked down a tiny alley that’s been built over, squeezed between the Rex Hotel and a beauty parlour. You can head to the stairs on the left to find the original tap room or to the stairs on your right for the bigger new taproom and rooftop bar. If you’re keen to try the whole menu, order some tasting paddles. Alternatively, you can just dive right in like we did. If you’re a fan of pink things, the ‘Salty Dragon’ gose is rather good and it pours a shocking pink colour. If you’re looking for a ‘lost in the concrete jungle’ feel, the smoker’s deck at the ‘new’ taproom is a thin bar counter over looking the laneway below, and gives you just that.
Try: the passionfruit wheat ale is a fizzy, fruit, juicy delight and reminded me of Pasito. Also worth a try is the jasmine IPA. Don’t question me – when in Rome….
Find it: 144/3 Pasteur Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
BiaCraft
BiaCraft’s ethos is pretty simple: “No bullshit. Just bloody good beer”. It could be run by an Australian with a motto like that. BiaCraft are purveyors of both their own brews and other Vietnamese craft beer, and has good food to match. There’s no shortage of BiaCraft taprooms in Ho Chi Minh City, but we stumbled across the multilevel venue on the corner with a view of the sprawling city high-rises and the busy intersection below. The vibe is dark and sleek, there’s rock music playing, and the staff know their shit when it comes to beers. There’s a dizzying array of brews to try, and if you want a shot at tasting them all I highly recommend a tasting paddle. BiaCraft’s beers are named in Vietnamese but if you’re not capable of the tongue gymnastics required, there’s handy English translations. Hubby got into the ‘Dúng Choc Tao’ (which translated to ‘don’t f*#k with me’) Pale Ale.
Try: the ‘Cói dô ra’ wild berry wheat ale is light and refreshing if you’re not into hoppy beers. Also, make sure you get a seat next to the window so you can watch the traffic chaos below.
Find it: 110 Nam Ký Khói Nghia, P.Bê’ N Nghé, Q1, Ho Chi Minh City
East West Brewing Co.
Only a few blocks from the famous Bén Thánh Market is East West Brewing Company. This is a great place to take refuge from the chaos of the Saigon streets. Occupying a couple of renovated shophouses, this is where you’ll find Vietnamese beer snacks, tasty burgers and drinks to satisfy all tastes. The brewers here combine brewing methods from the east and the west, along with local ingredients to create beers with a twist. Think you’ve had every beer there is to have? I’ll bet you haven’t had a jackfruit sour ale. The Far East IPA was hubby’s favourite, and he ordered it almost everywhere we went. Pull up a stool, enjoy some of Vietnam’s best beers and order a few snacks. Relax – there’s no traffic in here, no pushy market vendors. Just low lights, good music and beer. That’s close enough to heaven right?
Try: for the ‘I don’t like beer’ crowd, try the Saigon Rosé. Light and crisp, and tastes like berries. Delicious. Otherwise, give the Summer Hefeweizen a go.
Find it: 181 – 185 Ly Tu Trong Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
LAC Brewing
We snuck into LAC Brewing in District 1 as they were opening this venue! Multilevel, industrial style with great views of the street… and East West Brewing Co right across the road! LAC Brewing showcases Vietnamese ingredients with western brewing styles, and the results are delicious. The food centres around Vietnamese beer snacks and locally grown produce. It was quiet and chilled when we visited, as they had only opened a couple of weeks beforehand and were yet to throw their grand opening shindig. I can’t wait to see this place jumping! LAC Brewing focuses mostly on IPAs, so don’t expect a light drink here. Beers here are big, bold and beautiful.
Try: the Phu Quoc Peppercorn Brown ale. With hints of caramel, nuts, chocolates and quirky finish, it’ll knock your socks off!
Find it: 172 Lý Tự Trọng, Bến Thành Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Winking Seal Beer Co.
It’s a famous story: “We’ll go for one beer”. And we were just going for one beer… but then we started talking to the bar manager, and one beer turned into three which turned into a tasting flight, which turned in more beers. Winking Seal Beer Co is cool. Like most places we visited, it was squeezed into a renovated shophouse with a sort of a Brooklyn art-deco vibe, complete with a vintage dumbwaiter to transport beers between the rooftop and the ground floor. The crew here dish up tasty beers with a Vietnamese influence that are easy to drink, but far from the same old same old. Trust me, you’re not likely to drink the same thing twice! If you get peckish, the bar staff will magic some burgers from a nearby restaurant without delay. The place was jumping but it was relaxed and fun. The bar staff are great, the beers are good – this place is a favourite of mine!
Try: the Sailing Club Dragonfruit Pale Ale. Another pink pour, with some serious attitude.
Find it: 50 Đặng Thị Nhu, P., Nguyễn Thái Bình, Q.1 Ho Chi Minh City
C-Brewmaster – Ho Chi Minh City Tap Room
C-Brewmaster is straight outta Hanoi, “brewed by the Viets”. We were lucky enough to stumble across the Ho Chi Minh City taproom… and I mean stumble in the literal sense, since we’d stayed for more than a few at the Winking Seal. You gotta do the hard yards to find this place – it’s tucked down a little alley away from the thumping, blasting music of the backpacker heaven that is Bui Vien. Spread over a couple of levels, with plenty of seating for all and a list of beers as long as your arm, the C-Brewmaster taproom is a haven. The food is great – I can highly recommend the Hawaiian pulled pork! There’s also Vietnamese fare on offer, which makes the perfect accompaniment to beer.
Try: the Ginger Genie! A lovely change from beer. It’s bitey and refreshing, and very morish.
Find it: 57/4 Bùi Viện, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh City
Outside of Ho Chi Minh City
You’ll still find craft beer outside of the southern city, but it might a little more sparse. In Hue, for example, you will struggle to locate even locally brewed craft beers. Huda lager is brewed on the banks of the Perfume River, and it reigns supreme in the Imperial City. It’s not a bad drop, I liked it more than Singha or Tiger. It’s a pale lager, brewed to be enjoyed super cold – I even drank it with ice in it.
Danang – 7 Bridges Brewing Co.
The peeps at 7 Bridges Brewing Co are doing rad stuff. Whilst they’re brewing awesome beers, they’ve also got a long term commitment to the environment and the local community! This is craft beer with a cause. They strive to be a zero waste production, and invest heavily with local farmers and suppliers. It sounds all airy fairy, but I promise it’s the real deal. Slip into the taproom, and you might catch the owner who is only too happy to chat to you about what they do, how they brew and what’s next. The mural is slick too. 7 Bridges’ taproom has a rooftop bar (like all good bars in Vietnam) and multiple levels of beers and entertaining. The rooftop overlooks the Hán River and the Danang city skyline, and when the sun is setting behind those mountains and the city comes to life via the rainbow lights, it’s almost magical. You get a great view of the Cau Rong Bridge and the Sun City theme park further downstream. Beers here are served with fresh popped popcorn, and the pizzas are L for LARGE.
Try: the Sunset Weizen is a great beer – fruity and not a lot of hoppiness. Alternatively, give their Yuzu special brew a whirl. Not gonna lie, everything on the menu here is good.
Find it: 493 Tran Hung Dao Street, An Hai Tay, Son Tra, Da Nang
“I just want beer that tastes like real beer”
There is absolutely no shortage of good beers in Vietnam, and no shortage of places to find them. However, if you’re overwhelmed by the plethora of craft beer choices, and are looking for just a normal beer, you can still find them. The variety is what makes the beer drinking scene in Vietnam so great! Saigon Special, 333, Tiger and Larue are available almost everywhere, and they’re cheap. Bia hoi is still a big part of Vietnamese drinking culture. You can still find roadside seats, drink cheap lager and chow down on noodles. It wouldn’t really be a trip to Asia without that now, would it?
Looking for more drinking and eating recommendations? Check out Siam Dreaming’s Food and Booze guide for Siem Reap.
