The Bottle Shop (West Lake)

The Bottle Shop is run by Three Blind Men, the Hanoi outfit set up in early 2016 by three self-described bald and thirsty friends to bring the best craft beer to the city. They opened Standing Bar, their 19-tap taproom on Trúc Bạch Lake, later that year, and launched The Bottle Shop in April 2018 as a venue devoted entirely to craft in bottle and can. It bills itself as Vietnam's biggest collection of packaged craft beer, and the company's registered address and retail licence are on Từ Hoa Street in Tây Hồ, by West Lake.

The fridges hold well over a hundred different brews at any time, so fridge-digging is the point. The focus is Vietnamese craft beer and cider from breweries in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, alongside hard sodas and seltzers, kombucha and kvass, mead, small-batch Vietnamese craft spirits flavoured with local herbs and fruit, wine and sake, and a good alcohol-free range. Mixed packs such as a 12-beer IPA bundle make easy gifts.

The West Lake branch backs up the retail fridges with a genuine backyard beer garden, a rarer format among Hanoi's mostly indoor bottle shops, and a simple kitchen serves food and drinking snacks for anyone settling in rather than just grabbing cans to go. It is a relaxed option for anyone staying around the lake who wants to explore the local scene at their own pace.

A second Old Quarter location (8 Ngõ Gạch) also exists, and since 2022 the full range has been available online for delivery. Pair a visit with Standing Bar on Trúc Bạch Lake if you want to try Vietnamese craft on draught as well.