Scot stunned by Vietnamese drinking habits  A 2012 report said that Vietnam ranked third in Asia behind China and Japan in terms of beer consumption per capita. It is now in the top 25 nations with the highest rates of increase in alcohol and beer consumption in the world. Tuoi Tre Editor’s Note: Derek Milroy, a Ho Chi Minh City-based expat, comes from Scotland which is famous for its whisky, Scotch. Despite the economy still not picking up as much as most people would like, one sector in Vietnam is now in boom times: beer. The nation, according to reports, is now a haven for foreign and local investors hoping to cash in on the nation’s love of the golden goodness. Firms like Sabeco in Ho Chi Minh City are licking their lips as they build plants producing hundreds of billions of liters of beer with more to come. Foreign companies aren’t missing out, though, with Vietnam predicted to be the biggest consumer of Heineken worldwide in 2015. That makes big players like Sapporo and Carlsberg have a huge interest and Budweiser is also on its way. The expensive prices of imported beer don’t seem to put locals off either. Until a few months ago I actually wondered where young Vietnamese people went to do their beer drinking. I would only see the locals shouting their Mot Hai Ba’s (One, Two, Three – a local habit of counting to three before draining their beer glasses) in restaurants and cafes as I rarely saw them drinking in expatriate bars downtown. Apparently locals are intimidated by their aggressive foreign counterparts and don’t feel comfortable. However, then I was introduced to the beer club culture and I thought ‘ahhh’. The new phenomenon arrived last year with the opening of Vuvuzela near the zoo in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. The concept is beer with some western and Asian food options as a side to your drinks, which is the main course and main reason Vietnamese are in the beer clubs, and some pretty girls in Hooters-style outfits serving the drinks and the food to add a little spice to the set-up. After Vuvuzela another five or six beer clubs sprang up, there were some fantastic promotions to ensure that the clubs would be packed especially in the evenings seven days a week. One had 100 beers on offer for just VND550,000 (US$26). When you pay your money, you are given a card with some clubs specifying that you can only use the card when you eat food. Some are even continuing with these deals. VND5,500 for a beer is a bargain in any currency. The beer clubs are predominately local hangouts. You will rarely see foreigners frequenting these types of establishments. One Vietnamese beer club regular once informed: “Foreigners like to go for a drink in a quiet bar with maybe some music in the background and enjoy the conversation. Vietnamese like loud music and will try their best to talk over it as they have fun with friends and relax after work.” Now coming from a nation known for its hard-drinking culture I must admit I am surprised by the amount of beer Vietnamese can put away. Scottish people love their beer but not half as much as the Vietnamese, with a lot of people opting for whisky or vodka as their favored tipple in the UK, but it’s all beer in Vietnam. I used to think I drank a lot of beer until I came to these parts. To some it is like drinking water. The thing that I realized after my first family outing was the differences between the drinking cultures in the UK and Vietnam. Drinking is usually reserved for late afternoons or evenings in the UK and sometimes beer sessions go on for hours or days but the beer is normally drunk a little, okay a lot, slower. The Vietnamese beer drinking can happen at any time of the day, early mornings are acceptable even though this would be frowned upon in other countries. Beer sessions on this side of the world sometimes are short and sharp fixes with ten beers downed in an hour or two. A little kip after that sorts out the beer drinker who may partake later in the day, again beer being drunk pretty sharpish with the rules being acknowledged by all. Nam muoi phan tram (fifty percent of a glass or bottle) or mot tram phan tram (100 percent of it) has to be obeyed whether it is the beer you are drinking or Vietnamese ‘whisky,’ which certainly is not the same color or taste as a single malt but has the same effect. However, if you are having fun or enjoying a few drinks with no harm done, that is fair enough. But some take it too far with the abuse of alcohol, something which is a concern prompting the creation of a governmental bill on the prevention and control of its harmful effects. Underage drinking and alcohol consumption in the workplace is of particular concern, especially as Vietnam is now apparently the beer drinking champion of Southeast Asia, despite the nation’s income per capita ranking eighth among the 11 countries of the region. A 2012 report said that Vietnam ranked third in Asia behind China and Japan in terms of beer consumption per capita. It is now in the top 25 nations with the highest rates of increase in alcohol and beer consumption in the world. Along with increases in alcohol consumption rates, though, the increase in the number of people suffering from alcohol-related diseases such as neurosis and liver problems has increased, as well as the number of traffic accidents caused by drunk driving. This makes you wonder why some people continue to drink. My mum used to say to me after one night out, “You don’t need to drink to enjoy yourself.” If you can keep your drinking under control, fair enough. But if you can’t, maybe you need help. It isn’t called the demon drink for nothing. DEREK MILROY, Tuoitrenews