Paul and I were staying in Tay Ho (West Lake) in Hanoi. And one sunny late afternoon, I decided to go for a stroll without anywhere in particular in mind.
It was about 4:30pm, and I wandered down a street called To Ngoc Van off Xuan Dien street. At this stage the traffic was picking up… and I had to keep looking around to dodge the motorbikes and cars.
As I walked down the street, there were a variety of things I saw including, massage parlours, convenience stores, restaurants, cafes, apartments… and even a shop just selling durians!
The sunshine was starting to be hidden, as dark clouds were moving in quickly. Then drops of rain started to sprinkle from the sky. It then got more frequent and heavier, so I thought it was going to pelt down with rain.
That’s when I saw this place called Furbrew, one of the craft beer bars in Hanoi. Nice! So, while I was here I decided to give it a try.
As soon as I walked in I noticed I was the only one there. A staff member welcomed me in, and suggested I sit towards the back of the room as it was cooler.
There was a small air conditioner in the back of the room, and some of the fans were on… but it still felt warm inside.
I suspect that because they don’t open until 4pm, the air conditioning hadn’t had enough time to cool the place down.
Otherwise, the air con just wasn’t powerful enough.
Which Craft Beers To Drink In Furbrew Hanoi?
From the moment I stepped into Furbrew, the service I received was great. When I sat down they gave me a few different menus, along with a little bowl of complimentary snacks. That was a surprise!
And when they found out I hadn’t been there before, they were suggesting I try the taster set.
This included any 6 beers for 120,000 VND (about USD $5.20). The size of each of these craft beers for tasting was 75ml.
Yet, I had a look around and saw a big board with all the different craft beers on tap. These apparently were all brewed in Hanoi.
So the varieties include pale ales, wheat beers, IPAs and more. They also had a range of craft beers in bottles too, in a fridge near the front of the bar.
I knew what type of craft beer I would want to try, and I decided to order the Tay pale ale.
Furbrew Hanoi – Craft Beers And More
While I was waiting, they plugged in the password on my phone for free wifi. So I did a wifi speed test and here’s what the result was…
WOW! Pretty good speeds. The download wifi speed was 21.9 mpbs and the upload speed was 45.3 mbps. For you digital nomads, it seemed like a place where you could get some work done. Yet, not sure if it would get too rowdy during peak times.
I also looked at the menus they gave me…
It included a range of food such as salads, burgers, tapas, pizza and more. There was also non-craft beer drinks menu… which included spirits, wine, cider and soft drinks.
Then, my Hanoi craft beer Tay pale ale came out…
A staff member brought out my Tay pale ale and put the glass on a coaster. The first thin I noticed was how tiny the serving size was. Was I getting a taster or was this the full size?
Even so, when I tasted it… It was smooth and tasted fine. Yet, the craft beer was just on cold but I wouldn’t say ice cold. So unfortunately this was a negative. If it was served ice cold, I would’ve asked for the keg as it did taste excellent… LOL!
Plus, as it was warm inside, it didn’t take me long to drink the beer! I reckon if I could’ve sat in their cool room it would’ve been lovely… LOL!
What I Didn’t Know About The Craft Beers At Furbrew Hanoi…
While I was drinking my pale ale… I looked at the smaller menu which had lots of different colored cards… And I noticed that all the craft beers with their details were printed on a card each.
And that’s when I saw that craft beers on tap started from 45,000 VND (about USD $1.95) for 175ml (about 5.9 oz)! So I was right when I thought how tiny the serving size was.
Yet, I was expecting 330ml (or even around 250ml).
And, for the larger craft beer on tap starting at 90,000 VND, the size for these was 375ml. This was the same price for the bottle beers, which were 330ml.
So, that was a BIG surprise for me. They should put the size of the craft beers on tap on the board that’s at the back of the room. So this would make it more clear for customers, then they’d know what to expect.
So in the end, my craft beer Tay pale ale from Furbrew Hanoi was 50,000 VND for a 175ml pour.
If you want to give Furbrew a try, you can find it on 8b/52 To Ngoc Van in Tay Ho (West Lake), Hanoi.
Yet for me, I’ll be off to explore other bars in Hanoi for good, cold beers!
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