Craft beer's popularity in Vietnam has skyrocketed due to the country's booming food and beverage industry. In order to create their one-of-a-kind Vietnamese beers, brewers are searching for traditional herbs from the mountains, native fruits, mushrooms, and even crickets.
Beer is popular in Vietnam, making the country one of the top 10 markets for beer sales globally. Vietnam's beers are a feast for the eyes and the palate, a kaleidoscope of colours and flavours that reflect the country's unique blend of international influences and local creativity.
Vietnamese brewers first experimented with brewing beer in the late nineteenth century. During their colonial authority, the French developed the first breweries in Vietnam. Around the same time, beer became popular among Vietnamese people, troops, and foreigners, and Sabeco was born in Saigon, and the Habeco brand name was created in Hanoi.
Craft beer in Vietnam saw a boom in the early 2000s when foreign brewers set up shop in Saigon and introduced Czech-style brewing. Even now, this shift in the market and consumer preferences is seen by many as a watershed moment for beer in the Country.
By 2013, local microbreweries were experimenting with punchy IPAs and funky sour beers. This third wave of Vietnam’s draft beer-consumption evolution centres around American, Australian, and European styles of craft beer.
Since then, many famous Vietnamese craft beer brands have successfully begun to release their products for local consumption as well as export markets with great success.
From the capital of Hanoi, Da Nang city in the middle, and all the way south to Ho Chi Minh City, Craft Brewers are flourishing.
In a country where beer-drinking culture sees Vietnam as one of the top ten beer-drinking countries in the world and ranked second in South East Asia. Craft beer is booming in Vietnam, thanks mainly to the younger generations of Vietnamese acceptance of the local brew.
And the numbers are in. In a country where over four billion litres of beer are consumed yearly, craft beer contributes to roughly 2% of the market, with 20% of Vietnamese drinking craft beer regularly. That’s over eighty million litres of beer, more beer than the country of Estonia which is ranked eleventh highest consumer of beer in the world.
Today, dozens of Vietnamese brewers produce craft beer, giving beer aficionados access to a broad variety of types, including anything from IPAs and cucumber pilsners to hearty Irish stouts. With the confidence that there is a beer in Vietnam that will satisfy everyone's palate, brewers are free to push the boundaries of beermaking and create new varieties that will certainly surprise and delight drinkers.
Although Vietnam is still an undeveloped market for craft beer, the alcohol consumption habits of consumers and the rapid growth of the middle class in the country will continue to drive the growth of the craft beer industry in the coming years and continue to attract new players to enter the market.
In the meanwhile, our list of brewers is a terrific place to start if you're new to craft beer.
PASTEUR STREET BREWING COMPANY
Pasteur Street Brewing Company (PSBC) is one of the largest beer companies in Vietnam. It all began with the simple notion of combining American craft brewing technology with fresh, local Vietnamese ingredients to make outstanding craft beer. They have grown considerably, but their original mission to fuse the finest Vietnamese ingredients with the techniques of American craft brewers remains at the company's heart. PSBC beers are proudly brewed with roasted malt from Belgium and Germany, hops from the United States, and a variety of herbs and spices from Vietnam. The beers brewed at PSBC are easily recognisable by their unique flavour, sophisticated style, and full-bodied American craft beer aroma and flavour. 27 Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 909 899 812
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EAST WEST BREWING COMPANY
The East West Brewing Co. was founded on the vision of bringing high-quality craft beer to the people of Vietnam and is now one of the country's leading microbreweries, having won multiple awards for its beers. They use only the freshest and finest ingredients, spanning the globe from the East to the West, never compromising on flavour or quality. Both their standard and speciality beers are constantly evolving as they are challenged to incorporate ingredients from all around the world. Taking pride in serving as a bridge between different cultures through their beer. 181 – 185 Ly Tu Trong Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 91 306 0728
TÊ TÊ BREWING
Inspired by the idea of a traditional craft beer with a touch of the local culture and climate, Tê Tê Beer has quickly risen to prominence as one of Vietnam's premier breweries, known for the unfiltered nature of its beer, preserving all of its deliciousness. A Saigon-based company co-founded by two Spanish brothers, a Maltese, and an American began as a personal project for four friends who experimented with small-batch brews on an improvised home brewing system all the while crafting a distinctive brand identity for their liquid masterpieces. After only five years, Tê Tê Beer has risen to the top of Vietnam's beer industry, with in-house production, distribution, and a beautiful bar in the heart of Saigon's busy tourist district. With over six unique beer flavours, shipped to over three hundred locations around the country and exported to Singapore and Europe. 186 Dang Van Ngu Street, Ward 14, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 77 470 7182
HEART OF DARKNESS
In 2016, a group of friends in Saigon established Heart of Darkness with the intention of creating Asia's premier craft beer brand. Inspired by the American craft beer scene and its never-ending pursuit of quality and innovation, Heart of Darkness produces over 100 new beers a year and has collected numerous medals in competitions around the Pacific rim. With two taprooms, one in Saigon and one in Singapore. Their beers are widely available in Vietnam and exported to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Finland and New Zealand. Heart of Darkness has a beer for every beer lover on the planet, thanks to its year-round line-up of core beers and its rotating line up of speciality brews available seasonally. 31D Ly Tu Trong, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 90 301 7596
BIACRAFT
When it first opened, BiaCraft Artisan Ales was just a little bar in District 2, but it quickly became known as the epicentre of Vietnam's craft beer movement. Although BiaCraft wasn't the first official brewery, it revolutionised the industry in significant ways.As a result of their group's quick success in District 2, they released a second location in District 3. One of the city's most popular destinations for craft beer aficionados, 1 Le Ngo Cat has become a landmark in recent years.The menu at BiaCraft features more craft beer options, both domestic and foreign, than any other establishment in Vietnam. A total of four further outposts of the craft beer bar and restaurants have since opened in various parts of Ho Chi Minh City.On hot and humid days in Saigon, locals and visitors alike seek sanctuary at BiaCraft, a beer oasis. 90 Xuan Thuy Street, Thao Dien Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 28 3744 2588
BELGO
If you're in Vietnam and you want to try some authentic Belgian beer and food, look no further than Belgo, the ideal craft beer brewery. To allow their Belgian brewmaster to craft true Belgian beers, they bought a brewery in Belgium and brought it to Vietnam, they imported ingredients from Belgium and used Belgian recipes, adding a little local twist to make it unique! The result is a variety of flavourful and well-balanced Belgian craft beers brewed in Vietnam, ranging from easy-drinking to complex ales, each with a distinct personality. Having three bars in the Saigon area and a beer distribution network that stretches across the Asian continent. The popularity of beers brewed in the Belgian style continues to rise among drinkers. 159A Nguyen Van Thu Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +8428 3910 0485
7 BRIDGES BREWING CO
This multi-award-winning brewery was launched in April 2017 in Danang, Vietnam’s city of bridges. Producing a wide range of beers, from traditional pub ales to hefeweizens, pale ales, India pale ales (IPAs), stouts, and even experimental brews. It's difficult for them to settle on a single aesthetic direction. As a result, their beers reflect the changing of the seasons, the accessibility of unique regional ingredients, and the diversity of their customer’s tastes. In addition to their core range of beers (Dragon, Imperial, Beach, Sunset), they are constantly brewing beers and styles that excite customers. 15b/12 Le Thanh Ton Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 97 732 64 78
FUZZY LOGIC BREWING CO
Fuzzy Logic’s story started in Saigon Vietnam in 2014. They were one of the early craft beer breweries on the Vietnamese craft beer scene and are viewed by some as pioneering the artisanal beer movement. Brewing American-style craft beers including, American IPAs, Blonde Ales, and Pale Ales. Fuzzy Logic's pale ale, which is now recognised around the world, was only the country's second craft beer. Recently the brewer expanded its activities into the neighbouring country of Cambodia. Enlightened brewing for enlightened people. 08 Dang Tran Con Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 90 964 05 68
WINKING SEAL BEER CO.
In 2016, co-founders Brian Kekich and Mark Nerney sat down with a few drinks and came up with the idea for the Winking Seal Beer Co. They wanted to create magnificent craft beers, the sort that explodes in your glass like a perfect storm generated by the collision of atoms and art. Six years later, the visionary brewing crew behind some of Southeast Asia's most beloved craft beer, hard seltzer, and eco-friendly water labels has established a lifestyle craft beverage empire.This market leader produces many styles of beer, but some of the most popular are those brewed with traditional Vietnamese ingredients like lemongrass and dragon fruit. 50 Dang Thi Nhu Street, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 28 4458 1350
FIVE ELEMENTS
In Vietnamese philosophy, all things arise from five basic elements and always go through five states: Fire (Hỏa), Water (Thủy), Wood (Mộc), Metal (Kim) and Earth (Thổ). Five Elements has developed and brewed five different beers, each expressing one of the elements, with ingredients complimentary to the element and the beer. When choosing each ingredient, the ancient Vietnamese philosophy of Ngu Hanh is adopted. This ensures the interactions of each carefully selected ingredient are unified to find the perfect balance and harmony creating a well-balanced beer containing 100% pure natural ingredients. Each of these beers contains traditional, rare, and treasured Vietnamese herbs which have been sourced sustainably across rural Vietnam. Combining such Vietnamese spices and fruits as cardamom, pepper, chilli, bitter melon, citrus fruits, and Mac Mat leaves, creating beers that are uniquely Vietnamese. Lot d, Road No. 3, Lien Chieu Industrial Park, Hoa Hiep Bac Ward, Lien Chieu District, Danang City. Tel: +84 91 826 47 85
ROOSTER BEER
Rooster Beers’ Founder Michael Sakkers, is another pioneering brewer focused on bringing quality craft to the ever-expanding draft beer market in Vietnam. Their core range includes a blonde, pale ale, dark, wit, IPA, and a pilsner. Founded in 2015 with the idea of establishing a collection of light and easy-to-drink beers to appeal to the Vietnamese market, with a brand tailored to fit the Vietnamese culture. As a result, Rooster Beer has developed easy-to-drink beers, hard sodas, and a variety of beers made exclusively for an assortment of different venues across the country. 40 Bui Vien Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: +84 90 892 48 77
