Streetside Beer in Hanoi

Images from my college days are immediately conjured, of pumped kegs and frothy brews. But my current experience couldn’t be farther from Charleston parties. Rather than handing someone a wad of cash for a red Solo cup full of Miller Lite, surrounded by acquaintances, I’m sitting on a plastic stool in an alley of Hanoi in front of someone’s house.

A Vietnamese man grabs a glass and fills it with “fresh beer” from a keg on the sidewalk before returning to his friends.

It’s not as odd as it sounds. In Hanoi, Vietnam, and elsewhere throughout the country, you can get what is known as “fresh beer,” or bia hoi, which is freshly made draft beer sold at bars, restaurants or random spots. It’s nondescript in taste and doesn’t have any brand identification, but it should only set you back between 3,000 and 20,000 dong, which averages to be between 16 cents and $1 USD.

You can see how easy it might be to consume many of these, despite the fact that they are rather weak in alcohol content. But there’s nothing more satisfying to cool you down after walking around in the heat.

There’s even a street in Hanoi devoted to these establishments on Ta Hien Street in the Old Quarter. You can find them all gathered together, but look for the one with mostly Vietnamese, as you’ll be sure to get a better deal. If you find one elsewhere throughout town, you can get it for as cheap as I did on Yen Thai Street.

While it may feel odd to be sipping suds with Vietnamese strangers, there are few experiences quite as authentic and as cheap. Get comfortable if you can on your plastic stool and tuck into prime people watching.

Have you ever drank with strangers? Or tried Hanoi’s “fresh beer?”