Dispatches from the 1st annual Beerfest Saigon
By Noah Davis • Jul 1st, 2009 • Category: beer events
By Gary Hayden
The Vietnamese love beer. I mean, really love it. With a passion.
One of the first phrases I learned when I came to live in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was ‘Mot… hai… ba… yoh!’ This translates ‘One… two… three… yoh!” and is followed by clinking of glasses and wholesale quaffing of beer.
But despite their enthusiasm, most Vietnamese drinkers tend to be conservative in their choice of brews. The majority of bars and restaurants carry only a limited range: most often Heineken, Tiger, and a couple of Vietnamese products like Saigon and 333.
But as Vietnam grows more prosperous and cosmopolitan, punters are becoming more adventurous. Some pubs are expanding their selection of ales, and a number of microbreweries have sprung up and are proving very popular.
No surprise, then, that 2009 saw the inaugural Annual Beerfest Saigon. This three-day celebration of ‘Beer, Fun and Food’ took place from 11th to 13th June at the Windsor Plaza Hotel — a venue already well-known to Saigonese beer-lovers since it hosts the joyously riotous Oktoberfest Vietnam.
The idea behind Beerfest Saigon was, in the words of Windsor Plaza’s general director, Mr. Duong Duy My, to “Introduce the public to, and promote, beer culture.” A ticket cost 400,000 Vietnamese Dong (about 
US$20), and entitled the bearer to food, entertainment, a souvenir mug, and up to 28 samples of beer. Most, if not all the exhibitors, took ‘sample’ to mean a 330ml glassful of their brew which made this possibly the best-value beer festival I’ve attended.
Punters got to try 18 brews from nine countries:
• Legend, Le Cochon D’Or, Saigon, 333 and Gold Ben Tanh from Vietnam
• Tiger from Singapore
• Foster’s and Cooper’s from Australia
• Krombacher, Eku, Oettinger and Warsteiner from Germany
• Guinness from Ireland
• Gammer from the Czech Republic
• San Miguel and San Miguel Light from the Philippines
• Corona from Mexico
• and Moa from New Zealand
The First Hobby Brewer Club Vietnam, a bunch of local enthusiasts who meet twice monthly to test home-made beer, also manned a stall.
All in all, the 1st Annual BeerFest Saigon was characterised more by fun than serious tasting. But when all’s said and done, beer’s meant to be fun. This three-day festival of ‘Beer, Fun and Food’ has done a lot to widen Vietnamese beer-drinkers’ horizons. And I, for one, can’t wait for next year.
– Gary Hayden is a freelance writer. He previously covered the Singapore Beer Festival for DRAFTMag.com.
