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Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

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31–40 of 48 posts

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#31
post #3

Getting cranked on Bia Hoi in Hanoi with some locals is just an incredible cultural experience.

Yeah, it's great stuff - you can drink skips of the stuff and no hangover - well me 20 years ago could! I've great memories of sitting around on those tiny stools with friends - such a different drinking experience from home in Ireland

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#32
I grew up with these glasses (they're used for other street beverage too, the second most common behind beers in HN would be iced tea), and now I'm growing old with them. They're an integral part of who I am at this point, I guess I'd tell my kids to bury me with a few so I could have beers down there with my friends too lol.

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#33

> Bia hơi (pronounced “bee-ah hoy” and meaning “fresh beer”) is brewed without preservatives or added carbonation. Tank beer (tankova) from Urquell is same but it last a week or two in the tank to my knowledge and not just 24 hours as Bia hơi. It is properly the best pilsner in the world.

You don't get beer after brewing. You get wart. Beer you get after fermentation. Since it's alcoholic, it'll last more than one day.

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#34
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s really splitting hairs. The Republic of Vietnam was a dead man walking, but it was a United States puppet state, and they finally collapsed in 1975. The cope stuff of “never beaten in the battlefield” is just bullshit. The point of fighting a war is to win. The military bureaucrats tried to apply kill counts as a proxy for victory. The army pulled out but everything didn’t just end. There was a variety of cove…

> That’s really splitting hairs. As software people are keenly aware, accuracy in writing is important. > The Republic of Vietnam was a dead man walking, but it was a United States puppet state, and they finally collapsed in 1975. I don't disagree. In hindsight, the U.S.'s political strategy was disastrous. American decisionmakers — like all of us — had to make their best judgments based on education and experience (…

And I would recommend Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12292260-kill-anything-t...

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#35
> Anh em ơiiii, vực nào sâu thăm thẳm? —“Brothers, what abyss is deep?” Vực nào sâu bằng cái ly này! —“What abyss is deeper than this glass?” Hò zô ta nào! —“Haul it up!” Kéo cái ly này lên! —“Lift this glass high!”

It’s a pity that the writer didn’t elaborate on the origin of this “chant.” It’s a parody of a chant that’s originally for pulling cannons up the abyss of Dien Bien Phu. The battle alone killed at least 15,000 Vietnamese but brought decisive victory for the Vietnamese in its struggle to gain freedom from the French in 1954.

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#36

> Bia hơi (pronounced “bee-ah hoy” and meaning “fresh beer”) is brewed without preservatives or added carbonation. Tank beer (tankova) from Urquell is same but it last a week or two in the tank to my knowledge and not just 24 hours as Bia hơi. It is properly the best pilsner in the world.

You don't get beer after brewing. You get wart. Beer you get after fermentation. Since it's alcoholic, it'll last more than one day.

It’s “wort” and since the Vientnamese kegs aren’t pressurized with CO2, they will, in fact, spoil (oxidize) pretty quickly. It won’t kill you but it’ll taste like wet cardboard pretty quickly.

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#37

Talking about weird cultural things. Pretty much every Spanish household has at least some of their drinking glasses made up of the glasses used by Nocilla (Spanish chocolate spread brand). https://dechocolate.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nocilla.j...

It used to be like that in France with Maille glasses (mustard and gherkins).

Amora mustard glasses are famous as well. They are designed to be reused as table glasses and often have pictures on them so children love to get them. My son used to badger me to get all the Pokémon ones.

See here for an example: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KDIMNfsuM3s/oardefault.jpg

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#38
post #17

FTA: the defeat of American troops and fall of Saigon in 1975 This is a bit misleading: Yes, strategically the U.S. was defeated in 1975, but U.S. troops had pulled out in 1973, having essentially never been beaten on the battlefield — not that it matters, of course.

You can indeed lose a war whilst having won all the battles.

Re: Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation

#40
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s really splitting hairs. The Republic of Vietnam was a dead man walking, but it was a United States puppet state, and they finally collapsed in 1975. The cope stuff of “never beaten in the battlefield” is just bullshit. The point of fighting a war is to win. The military bureaucrats tried to apply kill counts as a proxy for victory. The army pulled out but everything didn’t just end. There was a variety of cove…

> That’s really splitting hairs. As software people are keenly aware, accuracy in writing is important. > The Republic of Vietnam was a dead man walking, but it was a United States puppet state, and they finally collapsed in 1975. I don't disagree. In hindsight, the U.S.'s political strategy was disastrous. American decisionmakers — like all of us — had to make their best judgments based on education and experience (…

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