Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Beer in Vietnam

One of the things which we really enjoyed about Vietnam was the beer. Almost every major town/city we passed through had its home brew. Some even had two or more. Beer is cheap too, from as low as 2,000 VND to around 10,000 VND (Php 6.50 to Php 35).

Bia La RueHere's a picture of our beer being enjoyed on a lazy afternoon by the river in Hoi An.

The cheaper beer is called Bia Hoi (which I think means draft beer) and it is served in establishments called Bia Hoi. These Bia Hoi (the place) range from a couple of stools on the sidewalk to beer hall style places which can seat up to 500 people. In the more quaint places, Bia Hoi is served fresh from a keg without a canister of CO2. The proprietor sucks it out using a mouth-powered siphon. That's strange looking foam on my beer! Yumm.

Bia HoiSome even have take-home beer. One time, we went up to a Bia Hoi with an empty bottle of Coke and had it filled with beer to drink back at the hostel.

Hanoi is the home of Bia Hoi. I've heard of people having it for breakfast. To the left is a picture taken at a cheap sidewalk place in Hanoi.

I miss Vietnam.

6 comments:

wysgal said...

Have you tried Beer's Paradise along Polaris (in Makati)? They supposedly have a fantastic selection of a hundred or so International beers.

Although of course the variety comes with a price --- Php100 to Php200 per bottle on average.

bogchief said...

wysgal, I have not tried beer paradise, and I am ashamed to say it, considering my liking for beer. filet minion has been there and has only good things to say - except about the price, of course.

What I look forward to is trying what they have on tap. I heard they have some good Belgian stuff.

sunkissed said...

yup, miss bia hanoi as well. I visited Vietnam two years ago and that was the 1st and last beer I tasted there.

hey, what camera do you use to take your pics? they're so crisp and vivid!

bogchief said...

The photos in this post were taken with an Olympus E20. Those in the other posts were taken with anything from a camera phone to a Canon 300D. I don't know what miguel uses.

Anonymous said...

hello. you should also try bier lao. me thinks it's the best beer i've ever had.

bogchief said...

Hello sunfish. We did try it, but not in Lao. Most hostels in Cambodia served Beer Lao. Pretty good nga. I think it even won Best of Asia a few years ago.