Bia Hoi
I have to say that in the wake of my last opus, The Worst Swill in the World, I have to set the record straight on something. I called out a country rich in beer drinking tradition on the basis of their lousiest product. That was wrong. Vietnamese beer culture did not deserve that.
Don’t get me wrong, bia hoi is lousy. But if you’ve ever found yourself sitting on a dirty Hanoi street corner, crouched precariously over a tiny plastic chair, trying to figure out how many cents your six beers were going to cost, you know it’s not all bad.
Bia hoi is an institution. One with the creature comforts of a Magadan prison camp, but also one you want to – need to – experience at least once in your life. Bia hoi was created in 1961 in Hanoi as a form of “people’s beer”. This popularly priced product (a typical glass today goes for 3000 dong, or $0.17USD) is poor grade beer, but affordable to a Third World populace.
There are a few different types of bia hoi establishments. Once we had old, buttery bia hoi in what was essentially some guy’s house. But usually, they are more permanent restaurants or open-air bars. Cheap, miniature plastic furniture is ubiquitous. A good bia hoi bar will be busy, too, and full of life. There’s little to do but watch the world go by and engage in lively conversation. So that’s what you do. The beer is so cheap and so light that five or six can go by very quickly.
There is even a tourist bia hoi, a corner of the old town where three bia hoi stands are filled nightly with backpackers. Get there early, though. Bia hoi joints invariably close before you’re ready to go home. They start packing up around ten and even the tourist ones are finished by 11:30. A range of beer snacks can typically be purchased, everything from peanuts to dog meat. But these aren’t the places to eat, if you want to enjoy what you’re eating. Think about it – how many dive bars are known for their sophisticated cuisine? It’s no different in Vietnam.
Production of bia hoi is another issue. International brewers don’t want to get involved. For them, there is no money in bia hoi. In Hanoi, the predominant bia hoi is Bia Hoi Ha Noi, from Habeco (Hanoi Beverage Co). Two other brewers in town also make bia hoi – Viet Ha and Viet Phap. There is also Lan Chin, believed to be from Habeco as well. The kegs are delivered daily, two at a time on motorcycles. They are poured by gravity into mugs made from melted-down Coke bottles.
Bia hoi – from its concept to its execution by only local brewers to its open-air bars – is a classic beer drinking experience. You don’t have to be a beer geek to enjoy it, but if you are a beer geek just remember how much you’re paying when you whince choking back the warm dregs of bia hoi.
7 Comments to “Bia Hoi”
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Nice dig in the opening sentence. Is it produced like regular beer? Is it hopped? Is it crappy just because it’s poorly made, has poor ingredients, or both?
I wonder if it is particularly bad in Hanoi? I had some Bia Hoi that was aimed at tourists in Hoi An and don’t remember it being at all nasty. This was before I was much into good beer, mind you, so I’m not saying it compared well with craft stuff, just that it seemed to me to compare well with the industrial beers I had there–better, maybe. It also seemed to match the climate well, being so light.
@kyoto I’m in Hoi An right now. Didn’t like the bia hoi here either, but it was the end of the night so who knows. My research indicates that it probably comes from Hanoi anyway, no matter what the waitress said.
@ Joe bia hoi is about 50% rice. Some reports say it’s dry, but it’s not, mostly just acidic in that Budweiser kind of way. It’s also very light, around 3%. Short fermentation period as well, not much lagering. It’s just high adjunct, short lagering light lager.
@Oakes I was under the impression that it’s generally only a few days old when it is drunk. Is this the case?
@noble…I know a few things about this. Bia hoi is consumed the same day it is delivered. There is “bia tuoi” which lasts 3-4 days. However, I don’t really know the fermentation cycle of bia hoi. It’s not same day beer as it wouldn’t have time to finish the primary. There isn’t much secondary, so it might be 4-5 days old when it is served. I haven’t heard anything too specific about that. I’d love to sit down with a bia hoi brewer and find out this stuff.
Got ya. Interesting to hear jut how many brewpubs are around Hanoi now. I was there 5 years ago and drank at one, in the old town of Hanoi, which was ok. Makes me want to go back soon. Especially when craft beer in Japan is $10 a pint or more.
Try Beer Lao next door.
Wash down some cat meat stir-fry with
this brew before you judge it :^)