Region & History

In the late afternoon, bar owners in Hà Nội's Old Quarter set plastic stools out on the sidewalk, and pale, light beer flows from stainless steel kegs into thick glasses. This is Bia hơi, usually translated as 'fresh beer'. It's found mainly in northern Vietnam, on street corners and in small eateries, and Hà Nội is its hometown.

The story of the city's brewery begins in 1890. That's when the Hommel Brewery was founded in Hà Nội, according to the common account by Frenchmen, and it's considered the city's first brewery. Vietnam was part of the French colony of Indochina, and beer was first drunk mainly by the European upper class there.

After the French withdrew in the 1950s, the state took over operations. It was now called Hanoi Brewery, and in 1958 the first beer under the Trúc Bạch brand came onto the market. This period also gave rise to the idea of no longer pasteurizing a light beer — that is, no longer heating it for shelf stability — but instead brewing it daily and delivering it in reusable metal kegs.

The company changed its name several times. In 1993 it was called Hanoi Beer Company, and in 2003 it became the Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation, known as Habeco. It is majority-owned by the Vietnamese state and falls under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Danish group Carlsberg has held a minority stake as a strategic partner since the company's IPO in 2008. Habeco is considered Vietnam's third-largest brewing group.

Unlike Kölsch, Bia hơi has no EU protected designation of origin, and there's no fixed recipe either. In practice, 'fresh' means the keg is delivered that same day.