Bia Hơi

The cheapest beer in the world is probably this one: it is called Bia Hơi, and it costs something like 15 cents for a 12oz glass.
The world Bia means beer and Hơi..well, I guess fresh/cold, even if the litteral translation should be Bia Tuoi.  Bia hơi is made fresh every night, it is local, delivered every next morning to bars around Hanoi: more than a micro brewery, we are talking about micro-micro brewery. Bia hơi production is informal and not monitored by any health agency, but we’re still fine after weeks, so I guess the low percentage of alcohol sterilized enough for us!

A glass of bia hơi should cost something like 5000 VDN (in the Old Quarter), but if you can pay as much as 3000 til 7000 (still not more than 30 cents). No bad if you think that a bottle of Bia Hanoi is never less than 25000VND. 
It is a super light and fresh beer, not too sparkling, that you can have before or after a meal (we can have several of those…when I say it is light I mean 3%…). The truth is that you drink it much more for the curiosity and the setting than the taste: in fact the bia hơi places are usually very “Vietnamese”…red and blue low stools on the street, sometimes they serve food, but mostly the bia hơi places are just a spot to have a drink and chat, and maybe eat some nuts or street food sold by vendors walking around.

In the heart of the tourist area on the crossroad of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen there are 3 small bia hơis on each corner and a few more on Luong Ngoc Quyen. Popular with backpackers, ex-pats and locals. It can be dirty at times as you are sitting in the road but a good place to watch the world go by. The seating areas are small and the bias arrive quickly. 


Our favorite bia hơi place is just on the north east corner of that square. (More about bia hoi)