Fancy another stop on my beer tasting tour through South America? After Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, it was time to point the bombilla… sorry, the bottle opener… at Colombia.

And what a country to do it in. Colombia has it all. The mountains, the rainforest, the beach. From Ipiales, through Cali, Medellín and Bogotá, all the way up to Cartagena on the Caribbean, I got the full spread.

But how does the beer scene stack up against its South American compatriots? Let's find out.

Cervecería Bavaria

The big one. Cervecería Bavaria is today a subsidiary of AB InBev, but it has serious history behind it: according to Wikipedia, it was founded on April 4, 1889, by Leo S. Kopp, a German immigrant, and became a subsidiary of SABMiller in 2005. On 10 October 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired SABMiller, and Bavaria became a division of the group. A German founder, naturally I approve.

Tested beers: Redd's, Club Colombia Dorado, Club Colombia Roja, Club Colombia Negra, Poker (American-style pale lager / pilsener, ~4%) and Aguila (another American-style pale lager / pilsener, ~4%).

Redd's, Poker and Aguila are your normal staple pilseners. Great if it's 34°C (93°F) in Cartagena and you need a refreshment but don't come for the taste.

I personally really liked the Club Colombia brand. It's mainstream, sure, but the Dorado is a great blonde (4.7%). The Roja (4.2%) is more caramelly, and then there's the Negra (4.5%), which is chocolatey but a bit heavy for your normal hot Colombian summer day.

Untappd: Cervecería Bavaria
Sources: Wikipedia, Club Colombia, Cervecería Bavaria

Bogotá Beer Company

Founded in December 2002, Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) started life as a micro-brewery. And it shows in the right ways: great bottle, cap and coaster design, and merchandising everywhere.

I had the lager, and it tastes great. I only ever spotted BBC in Bogotá itself; I haven't seen it elsewhere. True to its name, it's from Bogotá.

One asterisk, though: BBC was bought by AB InBev. Which raises the obvious question is this technically still a craft beer?

Untappd: Bogotá Beer Company
Sources: BBC News, @bogotabeercompany on Instagram

Apóstol

Cerveza Apóstol is a premium craft beer brand produced in Sabaneta, Antioquia, near Medellín. I had the Helles (4.6%), a traditional, golden German-style lager, right up my alley.

Untappd: Cerveza Apóstol
Sources: Cerveza Apóstol on Facebook

3 Cordilleras

From Medellín, 3 Cordilleras has one of the better origin stories of the trip. If I trust the sources the story of the brewery began in 1996 when the soon to be founder, Juanchi Vélez, traveled to Atlanta and learned their trade at Sweetwater. He returned to Colombia in 2007 and founded 3 Cordilleras. There have been six different craft beers launched since then and in 2020 they opened their second brewery in Bogotá.

I tested three of their six offerings: Rosada (a fruit beer), Mulata (an American Amber / Red Ale), Blanca (a wheat beer [Kristallweizen])

Untappd: 3 Cordilleras
Sources: 3cordilleras.com, Legends of Beer, Licores Medellín

And the winner (i.e. my favorite) is...

On the mainstream side, the Club Colombia brand was the one I kept coming back to, especially the Club Colombia Dorado. On the craft side the BBC Lager was outstanding.