Beer in Vietnam
Vietnam has an established beer culture that emerged during French colonisation. Beer in Vietnamese is bia, calqued from French bière. Some beer brands or beer types that are popular in Vietnam include Bia Saigon, Bia Hanoi, bia hơi, Heineken beer, and Tiger Beer.
Macro breweries
Vietnam's beer market is fragmented, with a range of breweries controlling different market segments in different areas of the country.According to 2023 statistics, the most dominant with 43% market share is Heineken N.V. Sabeco Brewery, Carlsberg Group, and Habeco, control 33.9%, 9.2% and 7.5% of the national beer market respectively.
Despite being one of its most popular markets, Heineken delayed launching their non-alcoholic "Heineken 0.0" beer for four years in Vietnam, launching it with a major marketing campaign in early 2020.
Vietnam's beer output increased from 3.4 billion litres in 2015 to 4.4 billion litres in 2019.
Of note, post-COVID Vietnam’s beer industry has struggled. Whereas beer sales reached US$7.6 billion in 2019 they fell to US$5.7 billion in 2020 and US$4.6 billion in 2021. This has been attributed to stricter enforcement of drink-driving laws, an increase in beer imports, and a general change in consumer behaviour since the pandemic.
Imported beers
Vietnam imports beers from various countries. Belgian bottled beers include Trappiste, Chimay, Leffe, Hoegaarden. Some examples of German/Austrian bottled beers that Vietnam imports include Münchner Hofbräu, Warsteiner, Paulaner, Bitburger, Edelweiss, and Köstritzer. Beers from Russia and the Czech Republic are also imported to Vietnam.Microbreweries and craft beer
Vietnam's craft beer scene is rapidly growing: out of 98 active breweries in Vietnam, the majority are independently owned microbreweries.A range of smaller microbreweries were formed in the 1990s, as Vietnamese studying or working abroad returned with enthusiasm for European beer styles like Czech pilsners and German wheat beers.
The second wave of microbreweries emerged in the mid 2010s. The first to launch commercially was Platinum, a Ho Chi Minh City based brewery producing Australian styles of ales. Since then, a range of other craft breweries have launched who now produce commercial quantities and distribute both domestically and internationally.
Notable examples of Vietnamese breweries that have expanded onto the international stage include Pasteur Street Brewing Company, Heart of Darkness, and East West Brewing Company.
Other notable breweries around Vietnam include 7 Bridges Brewing, Furbrew, Turtle Lake Brewing Company and Winking Seal.