About microbreweries and pubs in Vietnam

This page is not updated since 2015 and is a part of the history of the beer culture in Vietnam. I am now writing on a travel blog with focus on beer and travel, www.abudhabibeer.com.

The new articles from 2021 is written at www.abudhabibeer.com and shared at http://www.beervn.com. New articles are also added on beervn.com

The beer guide written in 2015

To help a beer enthusiast in need, here is the list of places in Vietnam if you are looking for special beer or a pub. Breweries and beers in Saigon, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Hanoi are listed so far. If you want to find out more about one of the breweries you can search in the archive for our latest visit there. The list is updated every month. There are only german or czech inspired beer in Vietnam, so all breweries can be divided in these two categories. The price of beer in Vietnam is low and the normal price for a glass of good tasting beer at one of the breweries is about 35 000 VND.

Watch a short video clip of each brewery at Beervn:s Youtube channel. All 24 places in Hanoi will have a short video clip before end of February 2014: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPVwuxTR9ggy4P_hSfbE1Ew

 Microbreweries and pubs in HANOI

Here is the list of breweries in Hanoi. After the list you find the restaurants that serve special any of the beers produced by the microbreweries or other relevant beer makers.

A couple of breweries will be added in beginning of 2014. At least 3 places are waiting for a proper review and listing.

1. Hoa vien Brauhaus   2. Pilsner urquell   3. Goldmalts 4. Goldmalt Tran Phu 5. Goldmalt Lang Ha (opening in march) 6. Goldmalt Hoang Cao   7. Goldmalt Ngo Thi Nam   8. Goldmalt Le Duc   9. 97 Nguyen huu tho   10. Goldmalt Xa Dan   11.  Cientos   12. Bia Tuoi Tiep   13. Legend breweries   14. Legend beer Tran Duy Hung   15. Legend Beer Vu Ngoc Phan     16. Legend beer Hoan Kiem   17. Legend beer My Dinh   18. Mai Vien Brauhaus    19. Eresson brewery    20. Windmill    21. Gammer beer 22. Lac Vien beer  23. Plzen brewery   24. Truc Vien

Waiting for listing and review: Pho Beer and Goldmalt 397 Truong Chinh

        MICROBREWERIES

1. Hoa Vien Brauhaus                                                                                                              Czeck style beer, two kinds of beer, plenty of space and food. Here you can enjoy good ribs, fried cheese, sausages but also many vietnamese dishes and it feels like in a real beer hall. After about 20 visits you can really say that the beer taste is consistent here, so as the quality on food and service. This brewery has been in operations more than 10 years which is a long time, in comparison with all other breweries in Vietnam.

This was the best brewery in Hanoi in 2013 and they also have a brewery in Saigon and one in Mui ne. Hoa Vien has three floors and if you are nice with the staff they might show you where they brew the beer.  They make the beer in 3000L barrels and is the biggest microbrewery in Hanoi. This is the best brewery to start with if you only have a couple of days in Hanoi.  Service minded staff, that are used to serve a couple of hundreds every day, serve your beer fast and cold. The fried cheese here is really good and a must try, if you eat here, also ribs is a good option.

Address: 1A Tang Bat Ho, Hai Bà Trưng, Hanoi. http://www.hoavien.vn Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k_tj9F_Qi8

2. Pilsner urquell                                                                                                                       Czech inspired pub with high technology toilets, nicely decorated walls and english speaking staff but also higher prices. Unless you visit them during the happy hours and get 2 for 1.  The price for a beer on tap is about 3-4 USD instead of 2 USD as in most breweries but the beer is well balanced and brewed with high standards. They have at least two beers on tap and one of the beers is from Hoa Vien brewery. The food is good and has really a czech taste, which also has been confirmed by czech visitors.

If you have a need to only use highly modern toilets, wants to drink your beer in a quiet place and have lots of vietnamese dong, this is the place for you.  This is a smaller pub and has place for about 100 people.

Address: 10 Nguyen Bieu   http://www.hoavienpilsner.com Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWdTmCKzwRA

3. Goldmalt breweries                                                                                                                    There are many Goldmalt breweries (microbreweries) in Hanoi and each pub brew their own beer so the taste between them can be different. Exciting! There is also one Goldmalt in the coastal city, Hai phong. The beer style is outspoken Czech but the pubs feel like a mixture between vietnamese and european beer hall design. Usually if you want to try their three beer on tap available on the menu, you might get the answer that only one or two kinds is available. About 99% of Goldmalts customers are vietnamese. The beer style is malty and can some times also have some sweet taste, the beers are quite powerful if you compare with the other breweries.

4. Goldmalt brewery at 34G Tran Phu                                                                                     Small pub and can sometimes be very noisy when it’s crowded with drunk customers.    Two different beer on tap and a vietnamese menu. This is the easiest Goldmalt to reach if you live close to the city center. This is also the first and mother Goldmalt. This is a nice and lively place to visit a week day but during the popular Friday and Saturday, its better to choose some of the bigger breweries if you want to get a table. There are 2 floors with place for about 70-90 people together. Staff is not speaking english but knows how to serve a beer and are always friendly.                                                                                               Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iMbzZewVKg

5. Goldmalt at Lang Ha (maybe opening in 2015, unclear.)

6. Bohemia. (previous Goldmalt )at 9 Hoang Cau                                                                                                      This is a couple of years old and quite small, with room for about 40-50 people. The owner changed name from Goldmalt to Boehmia during but staff and other things remains the same. They are selling a lot of bottled beer also which is unusual. In most of them you can hardly buy a bottled beer.

                                  Address: 9 Hoang Cau, Hanoi Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkSty5D9S6s

7. Goldmalt brewery  at Ngo Thi Nham                                                                                     As the other Goldmalt breweries, here they brew their own beer too. Made visits in May and June 2013 and they had two beers on tap, black and blond beer. In July they had only the blond beer. The location, in the middle of a junction is a minus and you will notice that this place is at least a couple of years old and good for a short beer on the road, not a place to spend your evening. Same menu as the other goldmalts but hygiene and equipment might be a reason not to eat here.  Place for about 100 people.                              Address: 65 Ngo Thi Nham, Hai Bà Trưng. Video clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOXCcQ5u95k

8. Goldmalt brewery  at 2 Lê ĐứThọ                                                                                         If you are around Landmark 72  you are closer to this Goldmalt. If you are in the city, a 25 min taxi ride can take you there, almost 10 km away. They have often just the blond beer. This is situated in a quiet area but the place is a couple of years old and needs a lift. But one of the few places where you can sit outside in a garden. This is less than 1 km from Bia Toui Tiep in My Dinh. Address: 2 Lê Đức Thọ, My Dinh, Hanoi. Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZE3nqXeav4

9. Goldmalt brewery at 97 Nguyen huu tho                                                                             This brewpub is really far away, about 6-7 km south of Hoan Kiem. The location is not too bad, close to a small lake. You can see all brewery equipment by the entrance, also some samples of malt and hops. This place has only two floors, decorated with Czech pictures of beer drinkers. Staff speaks almost no english but are welcoming and friendly.            Address: 97 Nguyen Huu Tho, Hoang Mai, Hanoi

10. Goldmalt brewery at 416 Xa Dan                                                                                           You can get both the black and blond beer here but the brewing is not consistent so you can also get a sad surprise. Menu is the same like in all goldmalts.   Sometimes there are only the blond beer available.

Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-4sQhw-EEg

11. Cientos Brewery                                                                                                                              Two kinds of beer, one blond and one black, mainly vietnamese food but also some east european dishes. Cientos is inspired by Czech / bohemian beer traditions and has place for a couple of hundred guests in their big beer hall. It’s not one of the best beer halls but you can see their brewing equipment and prices are low. They have a huge painting hanging on the wall picturing some old european historical event. Service level is medium and staff speaks no english. You wont meet any westernes here. Place for about 200-300 people.

Address: 107 Nguyen Phong Sac, Cầu Giấy, Hanoi.

Legend beer breweries                                                                                                            German inspired beer style and they have three kinds of beer, a black beer, lager and special lager. Compared with Hoavien and Goldmalt, Legend beer has a lighter taste and the ingredients differ slightly. There are a couple of restaurants but the most accessible is the one close to Hoan Kiem lake in the old quarter but this pub has also higher prices because of the touristic location. The newest Legend beer is in My Dinh area which also is known as Korea Town in Hanoi. You can also find som vietnamese and western food in their pubs. http://legendbeer.com.vn/

Legend beer at 222 Tran Duy Hung                                                                                 After shopping in Big C you can relax with a couple of beers in this big beer hall. It’s a mix between a lunch restaurant and a beer hall, more like a lunch restaurant. They have three beers on tap, lager, dunkel and munich.

The beers are all lighter than the Czech styled in overall and suitable for hot summer days. The munich is the best one. Because of its location, in the middle of a shopping centre and the simple design the brewery feeling is not really there.  You can also find a Burger King in the same shopping centre, nice with a burger after a proper tasting here. This is not the place where you can sit by the bar, this is a place for bigger groups or after shopping.

Address: 222 Tran Duy Hung, Hanoi Video clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPN2Q4eB5-I

Legend beer at 4 Vu Ngoc Phan                                                                                            Big beer hall with the brewing equipment visible in the beer hall gives this place a proper beer hall feeling.  This is the first legend beer brewery and they had a German brew master for many years. The style is german.

They make one black and one blond beer. There is a small difference between the legend breweries so if you have been in one it doesn’t mean you know how the other legend breweries beer would taste. This is a good sign which means that there are no mass production going on here and that the brew masters have their own style. Vietnamese and german inspired menu but most (99 %) customers are vietnamese so don’t expect too much of the western food, enjoy the beer.    Place for about 4000 people.

Address:4 Vu Ngoc Phan, Lang ha, Dong Da, Hanoi. Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTym2E9F9dk

Legend beer, Hoan Kiem                                                                                                           Just above Hoan Kiem lake and in the beginning of the old town you can find this tourist trap which also has other prices than the other ones. They put 15 000 vnd extra on each beer but they have english speaking staff. This is the most boring Legend beer restaurant in Hanoi.

Video clip from Legend beer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7A4eZAJNk

Legend beer, My Dinh                                                                                                                   They dont brew the bere here but they have three beers on tap. This is situatied ca 10 km from city center in a area with many Korean shops and restaurants. A smaller place but if they have the special beer, try it.

Address: D04 – The manor – My Dinh – HaNoi http://www.legendbeer.com.vn

Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOFt_IjhyRE

    

Mai Vien brauhaus                                                                                                                   About 15 min from the city centre, towards Big C and 200m from one of Hanois two burger king restaurants Mai Vien brauhaus brews and served their excellent beer. This is also a area where many koreans live and you can find many korean shops and restaurants here. One black and one blond beer, both really full bodied, well structured and with a proper strength.

Food is good and besides many vietnamese dishes, there are thai, german and czech inspired food. The prices on both food and beer are good. Service is really good, english speaking staff and a very friendly and enthusiastic brew master / owner who has been running this place since the start, three years ago.  In local terms, this place is old.But very good maintained and the atmosphere is always welcoming.

There are place for about 200 people at first floor and another 2-3 hundred on the second floor. This is really a good place and really worth a visit for its amazing beers. Two of the groups on the brewery tours has voted on Mai vien as the best brewery. No need of import beer when there are beers like this here in Hanoi.  You can read more at their facebook page,  facebook.com/MaiVienBrauhaus   Address: 145 pho Trung Hoa. Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT310zPhSv0

Eresson brewery                                                                                                                         Far away from city, some two kilometers after Keangnam Tower you can find this brewery with a huge beer hall and 2 floors. Three kinds of beer, black, lager and special (aroma beer) and mainly vietnamese menu.  It’s unusual that a brewerie has 3 kinds of beer, so its really worth a visit. They are inspired from the german beer style. This is a good place if you are a with a big group, the kitchen is fresh and fast. They are used to have several hundred customers a day and its not crowded unless there are more than 300 customers.

It’s a 20 min taxi ride from the city center to this place, on the way back, you can visit legend beer at Big C or pass legend beer at 4 Vu Ngoc Phan.  http://www.eressonbeer.com/ Address: 9 Pham Hung, Cầu Giấy, Hanoi  Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crb0qgF-IZY

Windmill brewery                                                                                                                  Czech style micro brewerie, once upon a time a crowded place but nowadays there is no need to book a table. The staff may not inform that youre drinking the last litres of the beer in the tank, that happened once.

They brew smaller amounts and have small fermentation barrels, so timing is important if you want to come here with many friends.

Its a really nice and cozy garden with some trees and it’s nicely decorated. There is place for 50-80 people and you can also sit under roof. The beer is structured and is a more tasty lager with some fruitiness and a bit dry. The only problem is the supply of beer, otherwise it’sa really cozy place and prices on food are good.  Service level is also good and some staff speaks little english.               Address: 31 Đặng Trần Côn, Đống Đa, Hanoi. Video clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cwY6skuzVs

Gammer brewery                                                                                                                             Just above Hoan Kiem lake and the tourist area, close to the big road you should visit this funny decorated brewpub with pictures of a man looking like the brother of Lenin.

Both two floors are filled with thick wooden furniture and if you are lucky you could also see a rat or two. They have three beers on tap, one black, gold and golden beer, nothing exceptional but good.  The beer style is Czech and prices are the normal both for beer and food. Huge boiling barrels (3000L) are placed in the middle of the restaurant. The food is mainly vietnamese and sometimes a singer or a whole band plays at the big stage there.  This place is worth a visit for its design and pictures. Place for about 400 people. No english speaking staff.

Adress: 198 Tran Quang Khai, Hanoi. Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBzFWoADVjU

Lacvieen brewery                                                                                                                          This is one of the few breweries that still has three beers on tap. The style is Czech and you can see some old flags decorating the roof. Lacwieen has place for about 300 people and is decorated with lamps looking like big beer glasses, combined with small lights and dark furniture in a big open indoor space.

The food is good and service fast, despite no English speaking staff. Food prices here are higher than usual and most main courses are over 200 000 VND. Beer prices are a bit higher than usual, 34-44 000 VND for a 300 ml beer. The names of the beers are Gold, Golden and Stout whereof Golden was good but also the one with highest price, 44 000 VND for 300 ml.

The golden beer was sharp and fresh, had a light taste of citrus, little bitterness and a good finish. The golden beer is reminding you slightly of an IPA home in europe. But the beer taste changes so if you’re unlucky the taste could be very light and unstructured. The overall taste of the three beers is that they are a bit sweeter than the beers from Goldmalt in Van Phuc or Mai Vien Brauhaus.                                                                                                   Address: Nr 2, Lang Ha, Hanoi, tel 04.37725397.                                                                        Video clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4lfMrnaz4

Nha hang Plzen                                                                                                                         Three beers on tap served in a place that is decorated as a cafe, no pub feeling but Plzen  produce plenty of beer. Probably the biggest microbrewery in Hanoi. They have capacity for making 2-3 times more than most of the other breweries. This place is less than one year old.   Vietnamese food and prices are a bit higher.  The beers are quite light but worth a try. The brewery is situated in Truong Hoa which also is known as Hanois Korea Town with plenty of restaurants and high rises.

                                                               

If you are lucky you can visit the cellar and see all the brewing equipment. Plzen brewery has Address: so 167 pho Hoang Ngan

Video clip Plzen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd-ijtCAIq8

Truc Vien                                                                                                                                         You see this place on your way to Big C in Hanoi, about 5oo m from Mai vien Brauhaus. Here you can drink one  Czech styled black and one blond beer. The structure and body in the beer could be better, its a bit light. There is also a variety in taste depending on when you are there. In winter time the blond beer is a bit better.

Food is maily vietnamese and the interiour design is a mix between brewery and a regular restaurant. Staff speaks no english but are friendly and prices are a bit over the normal.

Address: 40 tran duy hung, Hanoi

Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olALOc3NuPo

Bia Tuoi Tiep                                                                                                                             This brewery has no special name, translated into english it means Czech beer on tap. It is situated in the district Tu Liem and is close to the national arena, My Dinh stadium. The place is quite new, its surrounded by new high rises almost 10 km from Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi city. There are two beers, one blond and one black. The blond one has a unique taste among the local beers with a fruity tone which cannot be found anywhere else. 

Here you get good service and the food is really fresh and well made. Owner takes good care of the customers.

As in many breweries, you will find posters with motives from Europe decorating the bar. The combination of texts, pictures of beer and often a european women is hard to understand but some how amusing.

Address: House nr A2, Đường Nguyễn Cơ Thạch, Mỹ Đình, Hanoi. Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4AjTquqrz0

Henninger beer                                                                                                                         German styled lager, something between the light bia hoi and the more stronger beers on Goldmalt and Hoavien. The strength is some where around 4.5% and it’s taste differs a lot from the regular lager beers sold in the stores.

They have only keg deliverys with a minimum of 50L and has their office outside Hanoi. There are also a few restaurants serving henninger on tap. The manager is vietnamese and is service minded, many expats in Hanoi have had henniger draft beer on their parties. All contact details is on the homepage.                Address: http://biahenninger.com/

                PUBS

Budmo restaurant                                                                                                         Ukrainian / east european nice tasting food with two beers on tap from Goldmalt. This is really inventive and unusual in Hanoi, only a few places have this kinds of beer on tap unless they are breweries. Russian pasta, dumplings, meat in hotpots, potatoes  in many forms and grilled food accompanied with some russian techno or schlager. The food is great but the plave is quite empty during the week days. Nice place to be in the evenings and friendly staff with ukrainian inspired uniforms.

Address: 61 To Ngoc Van, Tây Hồ, Hanoi.

Daluva restaurant                                                                                                                       Just 200 m before the ukrainian restaurant you can enjoy israeli fusion food and other delicate dishes. Good service and well managed, here you can have black and blond beer on tap from Goldmalt.   This is very rare in Hanoi but now there are two places that serves Goldmalts beer but now its available in two places at the same street.

Address:33 To Ngoc van, Tay Ho, Hanoi. http://www.daluva.com

Light house, pub                                                                                                                          In the beginning of the main street in Tay Ho, Xuan Dieu, you find this small pub that serves russian lager on tap. Easy and affordable.  The beer is very light and maybe lighter than 4%. They have no kitchen and this pub takes maximum 25 people, its location is great if you are heading for Budmo or Ben Thuy in Tay Ho and wants to start with a light lager beer before the more malty beers. Address: 44 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi.

Ben Thuy (serving eresson beer)  Vietnamese place with traditional food and nice ribs. They get their beer from Eresson and has some times both the black and the blond beer. Recently (in Oct 2013) they have only the golden beer. Good prices, you pay 39 000 vnd for a 1/2 L beer, not a fancy place but good service. A good option if you are in Tay Ho a hot summer evening.  You can sit out side in their garden which is 10 m from west lake. Place for ca 200 people. Address: 139 Ngo 27 Xuan Dieu, Quang An (just beside the lake).

                                                                                                                                            Kaiserkaffe pub                                                                                                                             A couple of hundred meters south of Hai Ba Trung street you find this indoor pub, suitable for 20-30 people, really a small place compared to the breweries. Thet have lot of bottled beer and some german good, english speaking staff. They have weissbier, bitburger, dunkelbier and some other german beers. One of few places that has different glasses for each beer.  http://www.kaiserkaffe.com  Address: 34a Ba Trieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.  

ETE                                                                                                                                                                    If you live in Ba Dinh this is a good pub if you want to meet expats and have a western menu after weeks of pho ga. They have a special beer if you are lucky otherwise enjoy a thang long beer, dark dai viet ore some long island ice tea. The special beer is in a bottle without any brand so thats really a nice initiative here in Hanoi. Beer glasses are ice cold and they have Halida on Tap. The staff are very friendly, probably one of the best places in Hanoi. This is a very popular place and all staff speaks good english which is very rare in Hanoi.  Prices on beer and food are good and the kitchen is fresh.                                     Address: 95 Giang Văn Minh, Ba Đình, Hanoi.

Le petit Bruxelles                                                                                                                        Here you find many belgian beers, close to S:t Joseph’s Cathredal in the city center of Hanoi. You can have leffe, hoegarden, chimay and trappiste on bottle and prices are about 100 000  VND for a bottle. This is a restaurant more than a pub and service is good. Address: No 1 Au Trieu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi.