C-Brewmaster

C-Brewmaster was founded in 2016 by brewmaster Cuong Nguyen, who trained as a master brewer at the Scandinavian School of Brewing in Copenhagen and spent around twenty years in industrial brewing, including spells at Halida and Carlsberg in Vietnam and as head of production for Budweiser and Beck's. He started the company after friends praised a homebrew batch, and brought in a team with management experience at AB InBev, Heineken, Carlsberg, Abbott and Coca-Cola. The beer is made at the company's own breweries: the northern one at Lot 37-6, Quang Minh Industrial Zone in Me Linh, Hanoi, and a southern one in Go Cong Dong, Tien Giang province. Together they cover more than 6,000 square metres, with German brewing equipment and a capacity of 6,000 litres a batch. The brewery is known for using Vietnamese ingredients such as cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger, acerola cherry, mulberry and mint.

The beers

• Combatant, India pale ale with five hops, 8.1%
• Hung Dao Grand Prince, India pale lager, 5.2%
• Rice ST25, lager brewed with ST25 rice, 5.0%
• Smoked Amber Ale, amber ale with oak- and pine-smoked malt, 6.5%

The brewery says it has released more than 50 beers in keg and bottle, from 1.5% to 16% ABV, including year-round beers, seasonals, limited editions and custom brews. Bottles are sold by the piece and in mixed combos through its online shop, with delivery.

Where to drink it

C-Brewmaster says its beer is sold through around a hundred distribution outlets across Vietnam. The brewery's own taprooms in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City appear to have closed, so look for its beer at other bars; tours of the brewery can be booked through its website. Elsewhere in Hanoi it is on the list at Bia Sanh Dieu in Cau Giay, which is listed below.