Reed About Beer: Hue, The Beer City (Huda, Festival & Hue Beer)

Arriving in Hue we were totally disorientated and ended up walking in the opposite direction to what we had planned but we arrived in the old backpacker area called Backpacker Alley which turned out to work in our favour. It was quite funny because without realising it we ended up checking into the Ngoc Binh Hotel which was the hotel recommended by our last hotel in Hoi An. It was a great little hotel and $8 a night.

The Original Backpacker Alley

Ngoc Binh Hotel

We were here a few days so there was no rush to get around the city. The alley was nice and cheap so perfect for backpackers and we chilled out in the famous Cafe on Thu Wheels where the walls were covered in graffiti from past travellers from all over the world. With Wi-Fi available we decided to take some time out from sightseeing and concentrate on getting some major blogging done, still playing catch up.

Back on Backpacker Alley with the well known 'Cafe on Thu Wheels' on your left

Every inch of the place has a message to read...

As you can see!!!

Blog, Blog, Blog...

We ventured out in the evening to the new backpacker area which turned out to be a lot more expensive and not as charming which reinforced that the old backpacker area was still the place to be. For once it wasn’t just Saigon beer, there was a local brewery and we sampled the Huda Beer, Festival Beer and Hue Beer that are all brewed in town by Hue Brewery Ltd.

HUE BREWERY LTD, HUE CITY, VIETNAM

Giant Beer Sign on the Purfume River for the Local Brewery

The company was established in 1990 and the brewery’s head quarters can be located at Nguyen Sinh Cung Street on the Perfume River. It is partly owned by Carlsberg and produces four beers, the three Vietnamese beers below as well as Carlsberg. It was established to meet the local beer demand and after ten months of construction the brewing plant was ready for its first beer to hit the market, Huda Beer. Since that day production has continued to increase; 3 million litres in 1991, 6 million litres in 1992, 12 million litres in 1993, 30 million litres in 1995, 50 million litres in 1998 and 100 million litres as early as 2007.

HUDA BEER, PALE LAGER, VIETNAM, 4.7 % ABV, 330 ML BTL

Huda Beer was the first brew from the Hue Brewery and is produced using the most advanced technology of Danbrew Consult-Denmark. It is the beer that the increased production has been put down to over the last decade and really is the beer of the region. It is also quite understandable that the Carlsberg connection is probably the reason why the beer reminds me of Carlsberg Lager.

It pours with a hazy golden colour and has a nice two finger head that settles down but doesn’t totally disappear. The aroma is light and hoppy but not too intense, and the taste is actually quite well balanced. It starts out malty, and gives way to a rich sweetness and light hop bitterness. It is smooth and pleasant with not too much going on. Pretty average overall but the taste it what you come to expect from the beers in Vietnam so far, non offensive and easy drinking, nothing that sets it apart from the crowd but one that you would consume again without being forced.

Huda Beer

FESTIVAL BEER, LAGER, VIETNAM, 5.0% ABV, 330ML BTL

The Festival Beer as you would imagine was designed originally for a festival. To be exact it was designed for the Hue Festival in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. The label is now popular in 330ml bottle designed form with quite an elegant feeling. The City is striving to become Vietnam’s Festival City and if this happens you could imagine the beer becoming an acclaimed label.

The beer poured with a very light lemony colour with quite a high carbonation and a foamy white head that vanished as quickly as it had arrived. The aroma was light with hints of malted barley, hops and citrus. It was quite fresh. The taste was pretty much the same. You could taste the sweetness from the malt and the bitterness from the hops as well as a hint of citrus lemon. Again everything about the brew was light. Nothing was over powering and it was an average easy drinking lager style beer. The positive was that the beer was crisp and had a nice lingering hoppy aftertaste so you actually knew that you were having a beer when you close your eyes. Not bad at all.

Festival Beer

HUE BEER, BLONDE, VIETNAM, 4.8% ABV, 330ML BTL

Hue Beer is the one named after the town and for me had an edgy well designed label even though some people might state that it reminds them of a homebrew label printed on a home printer. It was first imported into the United States in 1994, just after the lifting of the U.S. embargo on Vietnam and is imported by Artisanal Imports Inc, in Austin Texas.

Its appearance is of a golden yellow with an average sized fizzy white coloured head. Medium carbonation with a good amount of lacing and the head lasted about four minutes before disappearing which is a record for the beer tour so far.

The aroma is of grain, corn, biscuit and light hops with a hint of fruit. It has a light mouth feel and the taste is a little more intense than the Huda. You can actually taste the sweet malt and bitter hops with a hint of corn mixed with fruit. The finish is well balanced and satisfying. For me the best beer from Hue Brewery Ltd.

Hue Beer

http://www.huda.com.vn/

It was time to explore the city and we decided against the local boat tour which we had heard wasn’t very good which meant it was exercise time. We walked the river with sculptures lining the banks, this seems to be a thing in Vietnam and it’s really beautiful.

More Art on the River Banks

Crossing the Purfume River towards the Citadel

Strange, Random Traffic Action

We crossed the bridge to visit the local market before heading to the Citadel where you enter through the old walls which are surrounded by a moat. The Citadel is steeped in history and is beautiful but only part has been renovated so far so most of the area is still full of old ruins after being bombed during the war. We did see elephants inside the grounds where you could have elephant rides but they looked sad and hot. We came across the old theatre but the shows were cancelled that day, typical. To be honest the Citadel is the main attraction in Hue and even though it is a World Cultural Heritage Site we weren’t fully feeling it. If you don’t get to Hue in my opinion you are not missing too much in the city, again i think it may be one of the places where heading out with the Easy Riders would be a good shout. The place has a great selection of beers though for you beer lovers out there and they are pretty much tied to Hue as we didn’t see them again anywhere.

What's a Vietnam Market without a picture of the Cone Hats

The Moat around the Ancient Citadel

Citadel's Main Palace

Elephant in the Gardens

Royal Throne

Old City Courtyard

Renovated Theatre

Closed-Typical Luck

One of the many remaining buildings

With the blisteringly hot days in Vietnam so far it was nice to have an evening of heavy downpours. This meant that we had to stay local for food and ended up back at Cafe on Thu Wheels, the food was good and cheap but the atmosphere was quite eerie. Maybe it was because it was quiet but the place is tiny with only 6 tables and it was strange watching the owner fall asleep while drunk in his chair. The place is still in the lonely planet and maybe all the good times that you read about on the wall have had their day. It doesn’t seem to make an effort anymore which it should with the newly opened Liberty Cafe further down the alley which has a great atmosphere where you can play pool with the staff, cool decor, cooler music and outside eating plus a chill out mezzanine area.

Liberty Cafe-The New Place to Hang-Out

On our final full day in Hue we decided it was time for a ride on a Cyclo which was good fun. It was like sitting in a big pram while a guy peddles you along the streets. This allowed us to visit the Baoquoc Pagoda which was very relaxing. We also visited Notre Dame Cathedral and the local Lebadang Art Gallery which was great as he was a world famous artist who has had major exhibitions all over the world.

A Big Baby in his Man Pram!

Cyclo Travel

Baoquoc Pagoda

Pagoda Oasis in the City

Notre Damn Cathedral

Catholic European Architecture in a Buddhist Country

LE BA DANG Art Exhibition

Some of the works...

& more on display. Keep energising my new arty side

Before leaving Hue I was able to beat one of the staff at Liberty which was surprising as I thought he was a pool shark with his pro glove on but the old competitive edge kicked in.

Have some of that Pool Shark...

Finally I also purchased a Vietnam beer t shirt for Bia Hoi from Papaya Shop, a little pricey but the money helps street children in Vietnam so it was for a good cause.

Picking out the Bia Hoi T-Shirt at Papaya

Our next destination was Hanoi and a 14 hour night sleeper bus. We had heard a lot of stories about hotel touts when you arrive in Hanoi but they started early in Hue while we waited for the bus before an excellent journey to Hanoi with a chuckle along the way watching a couple of travellers sanitising themselves and the cutlery before eating. This is one procedure we have never carried out, probably a good idea when you look at where you are eating sometimes but touch wood we haven’t been sick yet, our stomachs must be made of steel.