“The taste for craft beer is expanding fast,” says The City Lane. “At first it was expats who were the main audience for craft beer in Ho Chi Minh City, but these days its not uncommon to go to craft beer venues which contain more locals than foreigners.” The Vietnamese used to drink bia hoi, “an inexpensive, low-alcohol draft beer that was brewed fresh each day,” explains Food and Wine, but now bia hoi has “all but disappeared from the more affluent Ho Chi Minh City, replaced by rowdy, Czech-style beer halls where the focus is on the quantity of beer you drink rather than the quality.” And here’s Craft Beer Asia’s “brewery and pub crawl with 10 places in 8 hours” guide.
And here are a few bars where you can enjoy a brew:
BiaCraft: “Here at this small, timber-clad bar in up-and-coming District 2, instead of people clutching the familiar bottles of Heineken, Tiger and Bia Saigon they are nursing stranger brews -- think IPAs, pale ales and even the odd stout … since opening a year ago with six taps for local brews, it has expanded to 14, reflecting Vietnam's new love affair with craft beer.” (Traveller)
Hoa Vien Brauhaus: “Hoa Vien’s entrance sits like some kind of portal onto the cobbled streets of Prague … with 6,000 miles separating these two seemingly unconnected lands, it’s possibly the last thing you’d expect to find in Vietnam; Czech beers and hearty European fare on offer alongside diplomatic assistance.” (Roads and Kingdoms)
Pasteur Brewing Company: “It's an intimate space with a bar made from recycled wood palings and walls covered with murals dedicated to the art of brewing … beers change regularly but there is usually an Asian twist such as the spicy Oolong Tea Pale Ale or the sweetly scented Jasmine IPA.” (Traveller)