At Thông Xanh Craft Brewery on Trieu Quang Phuc Street in Pleiku, owner Tạ Quang Hiếu brews 10 varieties of craft beer inspired by Gia Lai’s landscapes, from Biển Hồ to Chư Đang Ya. Each beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized and free of preservatives, features he says distinguish craft beer from industrial brands.
Hiếu, who worked more than a decade as a programmer before changing careers, began brewing five years ago out of curiosity about why different beers carried different flavors. That hobby soon became a full-time pursuit. “The deeper I delved, the more I realized how much I loved this craft”, he says.
His goal is to create brews that express the identity of the highlands. One of his signature products, Chư Đang Ya beer, took two years of experimentation to evoke the freshness of a volcanic peak and a subtle sweetness reminiscent of young rice.
A batch takes at least a month to produce, with strict control over temperature during boiling, fermentation and cold-conditioning. Even a one-degree Celsius difference, Hiếu notes, can alter the flavor profile.
While industrial beer often uses rice, potatoes or cassava to cut costs, Thông Xanh’s products rely entirely on imported malt and hops. Only the water is sourced locally, filtered and adjusted with minerals to ensure consistency. All equipment meets German brewing standards but required custom calibration to operate in Vietnam’s tropical climate.
Hiếu also hopes to shift local drinking habits. Many first-time visitors request ice, common in Vietnam but a practice he says dilutes the aroma and “kills the beer’s character.” He encourages customers to drink it chilled at 2-4°C, poured into a glass and enjoyed slowly. Once they compare a glass with ice to one without, he says, most immediately notice the difference.
Thông Xanh Craft Brewery maintains a calm atmosphere, far from the noisy “dzô dzô” of typical beer halls. Customers often listen to stories behind each brew or simply exchange quiet conversation. Although the brewery avoids loud promotions, its customer base continues to grow.
Phạm Nam (born 1987, resident of An Phú Ward), a patron at Thông Xanh Craft Brewery, shares: “Craft beer isn’t for those in a hurry. It’s meant to be sipped slowly, to be savored. When people understand the authenticity in every drop, they’ll appreciate the brewer’s effort even more”.
Hiếu says success is not measured by volume but by seeing Gia Lai residents embrace beer in a more thoughtful way. “I hope that one day, when people think of Gia Lai, they’ll think not only of coffee and gongs, but also of a beer that captures the essence of the highlands”.
Amid gleaming steel tanks and the scent of fermenting yeast, Hiếu calls his craft a form of storytelling, each glass carrying the flavors of the land, the wind of the Central Highlands and the spirit of someone determined to do something different in his hometown.
What is Craft Beer?
Craft beer is a type of beer produced in small batches using traditional methods and natural ingredients such as malted barley, hops, yeast, and water, without additives or preservatives. It is unfiltered and unpasteurized, preserving its natural, robust, and fresher flavor compared to industrial beer.
The craft brewing process includes: boiling wort from malt and hops; primary fermentation (10-14 days); cold conditioning for 2-3 weeks to stabilize the flavor; and finally, bottling or kegging to complete the product.