The complete guide to Vietnamese craft beer ｜ get to know the local flavors and major breweries by taste

Say Vietnamese beer and most people picture local lagers like Saigon or 333. But over the past decade, distinctive craft beers built around local ingredients — jasmine, passion fruit, coffee, even durian — have blossomed all at once.

This article is a guide to understanding Vietnam's craft beer as a whole through “what flavors there are and who makes them.” We leave which shops to drink at to the area-by-area guides; here,A field guide to local flavors, and the character of the major breweriesall at once. Once you have a sense of the brands, the local menu becomes much more fun.

How Vietnam's craft beer came to be

First, the big picture, as a short story. Vietnam's craft scene divides broadly into a "prehistory" and a "modern wave."

• [Prehistory] Czech-style brauhaus: even before modern craft spread, Hoa Viên in Ho Chi Minh City was brewing Czech-style draft beer in-house
• [The wave of modern craft]：2015年1月、Pasteur Street が最初の一杯を注ぎます。2016年には Heart of Darkness が、翌2017年には East West が続き、ここで一気に広がりました（先駆けの一つ、Fuzzy Logic は2014年創業）

The decisive factor was ingredients unique to Vietnam. Jasmine, passion fruit, coffee, cacao, lemongrass — combining these with hops, brewers put forward a "flavor found nowhere else" rather than an imitation of the West.

Its caliber shows in international recognition too. Pasteur Street took three golds ── the most that year ── at Singapore's Asian Beer Medals in 2016. Heart of Darkness has racked up 25 international medals to date, and 7 Bridges of Da Nang in the central region was named "Country Champion" for Vietnam at the 2024 Asia Beer Championship.

A field guide to local flavors: tastes you can only drink in Vietnam

The fun of Vietnamese craft lies in the “local flavors” that put homegrown ingredients center stage. We've rounded up the representative types and specific brands to try if you spot them on a menu.

The scent of flowers ── Jasmine IPA

A glass that epitomizes Vietnamese craft. An IPA that wraps hop bitterness in the scent of jasmine flowers. Not too bitter and quite fragrant, it's just right as an entry point to craft beer.

• Representative brands:Jasmine IPA（Pasteur Street）

Tropical fruit ── passion fruit / dragon fruit

A brisk, tropical sweet-and-sour type. Easy to drink even for those who aren't keen on beer's bitterness, and a good match for Vietnam's hot climate.

• Representative brands:Passion Fruit Wheatfruit-style wheat beers/ales such as (Pasteur Street)

Coffee and cacao ── rich dark beers

A glass only a coffee powerhouse like Vietnam could make. A heavy, rich stout built on Vietnamese coffee and cacao. Good after a meal in place of dessert, too.

• Representative brands:Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout(Pasteur Street / 13% ABV. Gold at the World Beer Cup)

Herbs and spices ── lemongrass and pepper

The herbs and spices used in cooking go straight into the beer. A cooling freshness and a sharp aroma give it a character you won't find in other countries.

• Representative brands:Lemongrass、Phu Quoc Pepper Saison(a saison using Phu Quoc island pepper / Pasteur Street)

Full-on hops ── a proper IPA

Beyond local ingredients, the classic IPAs are highly polished too. They line up glasses with firm bitterness and aroma that impress serious beer lovers.

• Kurtz’s Insane IPA(Heart of Darkness / 7.1%, an aggressive 102 IBU bitterness)
• Far East IPA(East West / a fragrant brew blending hops from around the world)

Czech-style lager — for the richness of the malt

When your palate tires after a run of IPAs, switch to a crisp lager. The pilsners and dark lagers of a Czech-style brauhaus let you savor malt sweetness and body at your leisure.

• Representative brands:Hoa Viên 's pilsner / dark lager
• Primeval Forest Pilsner(Heart of Darkness / gold at the Asia Beer Cup in Tokyo)

Oddballs — even durian and pho

Experimental, conversation-starting pours are part of the appeal of Vietnamese craft too. Opinions split, but they're worth trying once for a travel memory.

• Durian beer: Pasteur Street is known as the first brewery in Vietnam to make a durian beer
• Pho Beer: A playful brew from Hanoi's Furbrew that works in the aroma of pho

Vietnam's beer culture, different by region

Even within Vietnam, the "culture of how to drink" beer differs greatly from place to place. Where, with whom, and how you drink — that very atmosphere is what stays with you as a travel memory.

The north (Hanoi) ── the bia hoi culture that spills onto the sidewalks

The symbol of Hanoi's beer culture is "bia hoi (bia hơi)." It's preservative-free draft beer brewed the same day, light at 3–4% with little bitterness. More than 20 bia hoi spots line Ta Hien Street in the Old Quarter, and by evening little plastic stools fill the sidewalk.

Students, office workers, and travelers alike perch on low stools of the same height, chatting over a beer that costs a few tens of yen a glass. It's an open, unpretentious place to socialize, titles left at the door. On top of this everyday draft-beer culture, independent craft has clustered over the past few years, mainly in the Old Quarter. Sixty-yen street beer and carefully made craft coexisting within a short walk — that's Hanoi today.