A Beer Tourist’s Guide to…Hanoi
The sights and sounds of Vietnam’s capital sometimes sit in the shadow of its Southern cousin, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), and when it comes to craft beer that stands true too. Hanoi’s spectacular, relentless café and coffee culture is simply so ingrained that any boutique establishments are based around the beans, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of small businesses brewing up something a little stronger.
The emergence of two Nano-breweries in the heart of the old town has given craft beer fans something to gravitate towards, made more enjoyable by their support for one another. Ha Noi Homebrew is a one-man operation that, you guessed it, started as a homebrewing hobby but quickly grew into something more. It is a small, crowded and charming hole in the wall, though you will want to sit outside on a stool as per the Hanoi culture. It has a selection of its own beers on draft (whatever has been most recently brewed) and some from other Vietnamese breweries in the fridge.
A twenty minute walk away is B’ross Beer, somehow even smaller though a little sleeker in design. Alongside a couple of rotating draft taps of its own beer, they also serve coconut-fermented wine, which has to be tasted to be understood. It sits perched on an intersection where you can take a seat outside and watch the plentiful, almost choreographed scooters jostle for position as they zoom on by.
For the largest array of Vietnamese craft beer, nothing comes close to Standing Bar on the charming Truc Bach island just a few minutes north of the old town. It boasts 15 taps of beer from around the country, from big hitters in Saigon all the way to small batch one-offs from Hanoi or elsewhere. With a cosy rooftop beer garden overlooking the lake, it’s a perfect place to relax and enjoy the best of Vietnamese craft.
Further afield in Westlake, where most Western foreigners in Hanoi live, sits Turtle Lake Brewing, perched on the lake itself. A delightful spot on a clear day, the space is larger and has a more industrial feel than the two breweries above and is well worth the visit from the old town, despite a bit of distance.
Finally, not wanting to miss out on the fun in the north, Saigon-based brewery Pasteur Street Brewing Co have opened two outposts in the city centre. At both, plenty of their highly rated brews (often replete with local ingredients) can be found in modern, spacious taprooms with burgers and other not-so-Vietnamese food on offer.
Hanoi’s craft beer scene is only going to grow as it sees the success of southern Vietnamese breweries like Heart of Darkness and Pasteur Street, so in between your several coffees each day, don’t hesitate to try something a little colder.