Posted on 03/25/2021 12:21:41 PM PDT by mylife
Sure, it seems a little sketchy to buy beer from a guy tapping a keg on a Hanoi street corner, but it’s actually totally legit. Besides, at 5,000 Vietnamese dong (VND)—about 22 cents U.S.—what do you have to lose? Bia Hoi is a traditional low-alcohol beer that’s brewed fresh daily and brought to the street vendors via Vietnam’s ever-present motorbikes.
Grab your plastic cup of brew and settle into the child-sized plastic lawn furniture set up on the sidewalk to watch the fascinating street life. As the day gets later the sidewalk turns into a low-key social experience, as inexpensive Bia Hoi is a favorite with the backpacker crowd. Expats sit around in their tiny chairs sharing travel stories and recommendations while cheaply working up a low-grade buzz.
Basic & Budget-Friendly So what exactly is Bia Hoi? For starters, don’t expect an earth-shatteringly good brew. The simple fact that you can buy it with sofa cushion-change ought to give you that clue. That said, it’s comparable in flavor, color and body to typical light lagers sold by major U.S. brewers. The only real difference is that Bia Hoi seems to have lower carbonation.
Simplicity Is The Key What makes Bia Hoi unique—aside from the price—is the process for making, delivering and consuming it. Bia Hoi is brewed daily at numerous small local breweries in Hanoi. It’s then briefly aged, kegged, carbonated and delivered in kegs balanced precariously on the back of motorbikes.
(Excerpt) Read more at porchdrinking.com ...
Viets I know go big, not cheap.
Its $700 bottles of hootch
Didn’t they used to call it near beer ?
I have never seen Heineken on a table or in someone’s hand. I see it on the shelf in the store, though. Tiger is the choice of people with a little money in their pockets. My preference is Bi Saigon, or was. I can’t drink the stuff anymore. It aggravates my gout. Any more I stick to rượu gạo ̣(rice liquor) which is mostly back yard manufactured, different from batch to batch and always good, some being wine, some being distilled. I stay altogether out of bars.
I have never seen Heineken on a table or in someone’s hand. I see it on the shelf in the store, though. Tiger is the choice of people with a little money in their pockets. My preference is Bia Saigon, or was. I can’t drink the stuff anymore. It aggravates my gout. Any more I stick to rượu gạo ̣(rice liquor) which is mostly back yard manufactured, different from batch to batch and always good, some being wine, some being distilled. I stay altogether out of bars.
Been a while, no?
Or “three-two”. Can’t stand the stuff. Used to sell it at the ballparks. Horrid swill.
CC
Ba Moui Ba Beer 33. “Made with sparkling rice paddy water”
Beer going sour? That’s what hops are for.
Have spent months in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia but would love to visit Vietnam. Any thoughts from anyone familiar or even from expats who may have even retired there?
they got Heineken stacked to the ceiling at Hiep Thai
Naw.
Happy travels
I had to give that up years ago, right around the time that it was sold to Anheuser-Busch which they subsequently ruined.
Yuengling is much better.
In Cam Đức it is rare.
The newly rich folks in newly prosperous Sài Gòn and in Đà Lạt like to ostentatiously pour very expensive whiskey and brandy. Most of these guys made their money in the last 15 years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.