Fresh unpasteurised draught beer delivered daily and drunk on plastic stools on Hanoi street corners. It is brewed to be consumed within a day, a legacy of Czech brewing technology brought to socialist North Vietnam.
The product is defined by a same-day brewery-to-street supply chain with no pasteurisation, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into it
- malted barley
- rice adjunct
- hops
- lager yeast
- water
How it is made
It is brewed light and low in alcohol, fermented quickly and then delivered to street vendors in kegs the same day, unfiltered and unpasteurised. Nothing is done to make it keep, which is why it costs almost nothing and why what does not sell by evening is gone.
How long it takes: brewed in days and drunk within one
How it is eaten
From a glass on a plastic stool at a street corner in the late afternoon, with nem chua and peanuts.
History
Brewed to be consumed within a day, a legacy of Czech brewing technology brought to socialist North Vietnam; Hanoi’s street corners run on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bia Hoi?
Bia Hoi is a wine & spirit from Vietnam: fresh unpasteurised draught beer delivered daily, drunk on plastic stools. Brewed to be consumed within a day, a legacy of Czech brewing technology brought to socialist North Vietnam; Hanoi’s street corners run on it.
How is Bia Hoi made?
It is brewed light and low in alcohol, fermented quickly and then delivered to street vendors in kegs the same day, unfiltered and unpasteurised. Nothing is done to make it keep, which is why it costs almost nothing and why what does not sell by evening is gone. It takes brewed in days and drunk within one.
Can I make Bia Hoi at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The product is defined by a same-day brewery-to-street supply chain with no pasteurisation, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into Bia Hoi?
Malted barley, rice adjunct, hops, lager yeast, water.
How is Bia Hoi eaten?
From a glass on a plastic stool at a street corner in the late afternoon, with nem chua and peanuts.
