Brew Pubs In Colombia

I originally poised this as a comment, but after thinking about it, felt it would be better as a seperate post:

Are there any "BREW PUBS" like in the states, where "specialty beer" is brewed and sold on premises? What tends to be alcohol of choice beer? rum? whiskey? Do Colombians, as a whole, have a decerning palate when it comes to beer like Europeans? or tend to be more like their northen brethern in the US where if its wet and cold, its all good!?

It sounds like Colombia has strong government controlled liquor distribution laws, from what I have read, so I don't know if it would be easy for a guy to get into the bar business in Colombia

By Joel y Luza on Jun 7, 2008, 09:22 in Friendly Talkzone.

bickerss says on Jun 7, 2008, 09:28:

BBC and Palos de Moguer brew their own beer.

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larryrn says on Jun 7, 2008, 09:39:

There was a restaurant in Medellin across from J and C Arepas in Poblado that brewed their own beer but they went out of business.

--- Larry Snyder - http://www.rn.org - Your Source for Online Nursing Education!

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rocinante says on Jun 7, 2008, 10:24:

Joel and Luza - in Medellin you are dreaming - Every beer in colombia tastes like budweiser - it's all that light crap. If you are used to like New Castle, Sam Smith or any type of beer with body and/or color you will be imensly disapointed. Get used to drinking the type of beer you drank in College.

Just a note - to me Bud, Miller, Coors, Coors Light, even Heineken to some extent, is below the line of solid taste. If one drinks Trappist ales or Belguim brews and then lines up the beers I just mentioned - they pretty much taste the same. Again for someone who likes were distinct beers. If all you drink are those beers then an average Joe might be able to tell the difference between Bud and Coors Light.

Once in a while Exito and Carefour and a few other high end marts will carry a couple of casses of something they get a deal on and you never see that again. Like Paulaner Weiss, Erdinger Dunkel and Erdinger regular. However one Czeck beer has been hanging around for over a year - Zubr, although I prefer Hobr which was around in stores for about 8 months. You don't see it any more although the Scottish place in Lleras will have these beers. The only reason to go there.

Besides beers being short lived, certain spices and sauces and other things in the shopping centers suffer from this as well. Once you purchase them you never see the again - so don't get attached. For instance plates - from Corona - you buy a set of dishess and stuff and break one - it's not like Pfaltzgraff where they will produce your line of plates for 10 years. If you don't stock up on a certain dishes you will never be able to buy them again.

There's some Danish type brew in Exito and Carrefour that is in a deep brown bottle - it has a cork and then there's another type whose brand name is just numbers - they both suk.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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viajero123 says on Jun 7, 2008, 10:25:

There is a few places that have their own "handcrafted beers", The Irish Pub, Bogota Beer Company and Palos de Moguer in Bogota are 2 examples. There is definitely a market for those in large cities. The environment in which those beers are sold are very important. I do not think that is particularly more regulated or restricted. I think the problem lies more if you want to sell those beers outside your premises and distribute to other bars or shops.

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RogueOne says on Jun 7, 2008, 12:19:

I'm curious to know of quality pubs too, wherever I travel. Same with many guys in the States. But I can't agree with the generalizations about beer lovers in Europe or the US. Brew Pubs and specialty beers are very popular up here.
The 'decerning' Germans chose Bud as their official World Cup 2006 brew I recall. And the visiting Brits (and other Europeans) nearly drank Germany dry as they guzzled anything yellow from the tap (lol).
I'll be there next week and see what I find.
Just pushin' back a bit....peace.
R1

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Joel y Luza says on Jun 7, 2008, 13:58:

My wife and I have been "dreaming" of a niche to fill, either in Colombia for goods and services from the states that would do well in Colombia's growing economy, or goods and services from Colombia that would do well, here in the States...Maybe I am dreaming, but I really think there is a relative comparative advantage to consider doing business between Colombia and the States, with higher fuel prices and the horribly weak USD..

Yes, I have noticed, even some of the "brew pubs" here in the states have become multi market chains, (like the RAM in the Northwest) and the quality of beer has gone way down!!

This Fall, I am planning my first trip to Colombia to visit my wife's family. I really can't wait to explore Bogota and understand the culture better...and to explore the possibilities...

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Lcacique says on Jun 7, 2008, 15:09:

In my opinion, quality craft beers would not go over very well in Colombia. Generally, Colombians prefer lighter beers (as stated above). As for what types of liquor they prefer (again, in general): AGUARDIENTE.

I have never been a fan of the Ram. They've been around for quite sometime and, in my humble opinion, their beer has always been subpar.

If you are in the NW, do me a favor and start a Colombian restaurant!!! I'm dying for some bandeja paisa, mojarra, ajíaco, sancocho, etc.

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

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Cheers Terry says on Jun 7, 2008, 15:34:

Agree with the above comments regarding the Colombian palate for beer. Like most of Central America and the Caribbean they love their crappy light lagers. Perfect for a hot muggy day, but very uninspired in terms of sophistication or taste.

All the "brew pubs" I visited catered to foreigners and upper scale Colombians acting like foreigners. The high-end stores that carried foreign imports often had dust on the bottles.

I can't imagine a locally produced specialty beer doing very well in retail sales, but who knows how a proper brew pub would fare. Have fun with your research!...

Cheers,
Terry

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Joel y Luza says on Jun 7, 2008, 17:42:

thanks guys!
I appreciate your input!!
Joel

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Lisa Zee says on Jun 7, 2008, 20:17:

There will be a Micro Brewery opening soon in Medellin. It will be amazing.

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Cheers Terry says on Jun 8, 2008, 08:54:

A micro brewery for a bar, or one that supplies micro brew for retail sale? Big difference...

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ingles says on Jun 8, 2008, 09:35:

"The 'decerning' Germans chose Bud as their official World Cup 2006 brew I recall."

Don't think it was the Germans that chose this - FIFA sell out to the highest bidder. I very much doubt that much Budweiser was being drunk in Germany!

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