←→Must See: Bia Hoi in Hanoi, Vietnam

Posted Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 · Permalink

You’ve been out all day and you’re tired. Time to relax and have a few cold ones. And when I say cold, I really mean cold! Bia hoi (formally bia hơi, translated literally to beer gas) is the cheapest thing you can find in Vietnam. But don’t be fooled by the price: this stuff is usually pretty good!

Bia hoi is a locally brewed beer type with no preservatives and is very light (about 2-4% vol.). For this reason alone you can always expect one thing: that it is fresh (or so you should hope). And don’t go looking for any fancy labels or logos: bia hoi is specifically a type of beer where the manufacturing method is quick and cheap, usually reserved for independent brewers. There are a few established brewers, such as Tâyâu, but don’t go looking for them because they’re hard to find and there is really no benefit to them.

Due to the general lack of fridges in Vietnam, this beer is usually consumed with a big chunk of ice floating in the middle (which is not uncommon for other beverages either). That said, I do have a word of warning regarding ice: the water which is used to produce ice is not always clean (read: fragile Western stomaches). Also, bia hoi is not always produced in controlled environments and hence might be bad, for lack of a better term. The general rule of thumb is to stick to the busy joints.

ThingsAsian has a nice bia hoi story with a few recommended bia hois (bia hoi bars).
Happy drinking!

Filed under Asia, Must See, Vietnam.