What is craft beer? The most popular craft beer styles

What craft beer is, how it differs from industrial lager, why it costs more, and eight styles to try first: Pale Ale, IPA, NEIPA, Pilsner, Wheat, Stout, Sour and Saison.

06 Oct 2026 · 7 min read

Craft beer is beer brewed in batches by small, independent breweries that put flavour and ingredients ahead of volume. There is no single legal definition; in Vietnam the term usually means beer from small breweries and brewpubs, made from malt, hops, yeast and water with little or no cost-cutting adjuncts.

How craft beer differs from industrial beer

	Craft beer	Industrial beer
Quy mô mẻ nấu	Vài chục đến vài nghìn lít	Hàng chục nghìn lít trở lên
Nguyên liệu	Chủ yếu malt, nhiều hoa bia, men chọn theo dòng bia	Malt kèm gạo, ngô hoặc đường để nhẹ vị và giảm chi phí
Hương vị	Đa dạng: đắng, thơm trái cây, rang cháy, chua…	Nhẹ, ổn định, dễ uống
Xử lý sau lên men	Thường không thanh trùng, lọc ít hoặc không lọc	Lọc trong và thanh trùng để để lâu
Bảo quản	Giữ lạnh, nên uống tươi	Để được ở nhiệt độ thường

The table shows tendencies, not hard rules: some craft breweries filter and pasteurise, and industrial does not mean bad. The real difference is the goal — flavour batch by batch versus consistency and cost.

Eight craft styles to try first

Pale Ale: balanced malt and hops with moderate bitterness — the friendliest starting point.
IPA (India Pale Ale): hop-forward and clearly bitter, with citrus, pine or tropical fruit aroma.
NEIPA / Hazy IPA: cloudy, soft, intensely fruity and less bitter than a classic IPA.
Craft Pilsner / Lager: clear, crisp and clean; fermented cold and conditioned longer than ales.
Wheat beer (Witbier, Hefeweizen): lightly hazy, with banana, clove or orange-peel notes.
Stout / Porter: dark beers from roasted malt with coffee and chocolate flavours.
Sour / Gose: tart beers, often fruited; great in hot weather.
Saison and Belgian ales (Blonde, Dubbel, Tripel): fruity, spicy Belgian yeast character, usually stronger.

Why craft beer costs more

Small batches spread fixed costs over fewer litres; recipes use more imported malt and hops; and the beer needs a cold chain from brewery to tap. Beer is also subject to excise tax calculated on the selling price, so a higher cost base means more tax.

How to store and serve craft beer

Keep it cold and out of sunlight; hoppy beers (IPA, NEIPA) are best as fresh as possible.
Pour into a clean glass to release aroma; serve lagers and wheat beers colder, stouts and Belgian ales slightly warmer.
Draft beer in kegs needs CO₂ and a steady temperature to hold carbonation and foam — the job of a kegerator.

Brewing craft beer at home

Homebrewing follows the same steps as a brewery: mash, lauter, boil with hops, chill, ferment, then bottle or keg. With an all-in-one brewer and a fermenter you can make 20–60 litre batches in your kitchen.

See the step-by-step home brewing process →See the home brewing combos →