Ho Chi Minh Micro-Breweries

During our visit to Ho Chi Minh, Em had organised a tour of some of Ho Chi Minh's micro-breweries for a birthday surprise. First up was Hoa Vien Brauhaus (28 Mac Dinh Chi, District 1, http://www.hoavien.vn/aboutus/home.php?page_lang=english). Bizarrely, this place seems to be an official consulate of the Czech Republic in Vietnam (those Czech's love their beer), and the interior is modelled on a traditional Czech beer hall. The owner clearly knows a fair bit about beer and brewing, the walls are decorated with beer paraphernalia and information from around the world...I was surprised to see a description of Adnams Suffolk Strong Ale (i'd visited the Adnams brewery in Southwold, Suffolk just a few weeks before). There were only two locally brewed beers on offer when we visited - dark and 'yellow' as our waiter in a Hawaiian shirt described them to us. The yellow was a very drinkable pale ale with a malty flavour and medium bitterness but little discernible hop flavour. The dark was a stout and slightly stronger in alcohol but not as much as the tropical stouts common hereabouts. Both beers were served in either 300ml, 500ml or 1 litre glass mugs, and take-outs were offered in both bottles and kegs. Hoa Vien Brauhaus had a great atmosphere and was clearly very popular with the locals - a table of Vietnamese guys near us looked and sounded like they'd been on the litre mugs all afternoon and there was much singing and toasting.

We were disappointed to find that the second venue on our list (Hops Brauhaus) appeared to have closed down, and we weren't sure how to find the remaining 'Lion' Brewery. Luckily, on the way home Em spotted it across the square from the opera house (11 Lam Son Square, District 1). Lion is an enormous German style brew hall, bizarrely sporting Vietnamese waitresses wearing traditional German beer maid costumes. Apparently the production equipment and all ingredients are imported from Germany, and the master brewer is also German. The beers on offer were very similar to Hoa Vien - a dark and a 'yellow'. Lion describe their yellow beer as a pilsner but to be honest it really tastes like an ale to me, lacking the crisp taste, clarity and hop flavour / aroma i'd expect from a pilsner. However, Lion also had on a 'special brew' which we sampled and although it also tasted like a pale ale, it did have a much more noticeable hop flavour and bitterness. This was probably the best beer we tasted during the afternoon but i'm not sure if it's a permanent addition to the menu. Lion were putting a lot of effort into advertising the upcoming Munich beer festival with posters and special offers.

I'm not sure if there are any other small breweries in Ho Chi Minh, but these two were both great and the beers are far more interesting than the standard lagers common hereabouts. For me, Hoa Vien wins out on atmosphere but I can recommend a visit to both.