One of the many things our readers asked for in our Medellín Living reader survey is re-starting the Medellín Living Meetup events. Several readers asked for this. So we are planning our first Medellín Living Meetup event for 2017 on January 26 at 7pm at Bogotá Beer Company.
Maybe you just arrived in Medellín, or maybe you’ve been living here for years. Come and meet other expats living in the city or visiting Medellín.
Regardless of your time in the city, I want to invite you to the first official Medellín Living Meetup for 2017.
To kick off what I hope to be a monthly gathering of readers and friends I’ve chosen the Bogotá Beer Company located in Provenza in El Poblado. This is a chance to experience one of Colombia’s best microbrews and they also have some food.
Even if you’re on a super tight budget, come for the conversation, and if you can’t make it this time, no worries. We intend to organize a Medellín Living meetup each month.
Note this isn’t a sponsored event so attendees will be expected to pay their own way for drinks and food.
Date: 7:00pm, Thursday, January 26, 2017
Address: Carrera 34 #7-165 (corner of Carrera 34 + Calle 8), Provenza area, Poblado (a few blocks from Parque Lleras)
If you plan to attend please RSVP so we know how many to expect.
More About Bogotá Beer Company
Berny Silberwasser started Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) in Bogotá. In 2002, he used $40,000 in secondhand brewing equipment shipped from Portland, Oregon to launch the first BBC in Bogotá.
There are now 22 Bogotá Beer Company locations in Bogotá. And one is located in Cartagena, one in Santa Marta, one in Barranquilla and the one in Medellín opened in 2013.
The interior of the BBC in Medellín is styled after English pubs, with a long wooden bar, five beers on tap, and many more available by the bottle. Medellin may not be as cold as London, but the wood still creates a warm and cozy feeling.
In addition to the bar, and two interior rooms featuring flat HD televisions, there are a few small tables on the wrap-around balcony, as well as an outdoor patio in the front, where smoking is allowed.
Colombia’s beer market is currently dominated by Bavaria, a subsidiary of the London-based multinational SABMiller with an estimated 98% of the market.
Monopolistic companies have little reason to innovate, which might explain why brands in Colombia as big as Pilsen, Aguila, and Club Colombia all taste about the same.
But this has been slowly changing over the past several years with Bogotá Beer Company leading the way.
In addition to beers, BBC has classic bar food, both Western and Colombian, including:
- Buffalo wings with blue cheese
- Patacones with cheese and guacamole
- Calamari
- Nachos
- Bogotá-style empanadas
- Three mini burgers
Bogotá Beer Company is a good location for happy hours with coworkers, going out with friends, or to get some beer and grub while watching the local soccer.
Please Join Us For the First Medellín Living Meetup of 2017
Readers in our Medellín Living survey late last year asked us to re-start the Medellín Living Meetup events and we have responded.
Over 25 Medellín Living Meetup events were held in the past from early 2013 to early 2015. They tended to have 15 to 30 attendees each. There were even a few dinner events with over 50 attendees.
This is a very good way to meet other expats living in the city as well as newcomers visiting or considering moving to the city. You’ll also get to meet one of the Medellín Living writers – Jeff. As a guest we are expecting Brad Hinkleman, the founder of Casacol. Invite your friends!
If you plan to attend please RSVP so we know how many to expect.
If the concept was to have an evening for expats why does it have to include a ‘guest’ like Hinkelman? Is this a meet up or an opportunity for Hinkelman to sell investment properties? Are Casacol paying for the drinks?
If you read forums it’s pretty clear that the Gringo Real Estate agencies aren’t well regarded by local expats and the general advice is to steer well clear of them. It also erodes ML claims that they are independent.
If Hinkelman wants to come along (he’s an expat after all) so be it but the idea that he’s some guest just makes it look like a marketing exercise. And Brad is a marketer. Incidentally has the invite been extended to his rivals?
Thanks for expressing your concerns. This is strictly a Medellín Living Meetup. If this was sponsored it would be clearly disclosed. This is a meetup for drinks and food with other expats and it isn’t a forum to sell properties.
Any expats (like Brad Hinkleman) or even non-expat readers are welcome. I just happened to be aware that Brad is attending and his real estate rivals are welcome and I sent them an invite.
The goal of these Medellín Living Meetups is to provide a forum for expats to meet each other. Many readers requested this in our Medellín Living survey.
Thanks for organizing this – it’s a great idea. Too bad I will be in Bogotá on the day of this meetup but I hope to make it to a future one.
Jeff, I am attending my first meeting; may I bring my local Colombian friend as a guest?
Sure no problem.
2 kool 4 skool. I’ma RSVP my own self.
Ooops, I’m not on Facebook so please make this my RSVP.
Heading back to the States for 2 weeks and this is smack dab in the middle of my trip. Otherwise I would love to attend. Hopefully there will be more. Keep up the good work.
Thanks. This is just the first Medellín Living Meetup this year. There is strong interest as many have RSVPed so we plan to have more.
“Colombia’s beer market is currently dominated by Bavaria, a subsidiary of the London-based multinational SABMiller with an estimated 98% of the market.
“Monopolistic companies have little reason to innovate, which might explain why brands in Colombia as big as Pilsen, Aguila, and Club Colombia all taste about the same.
But this has been slowly changing over the past several years with Bogotá Beer Company leading the way.” –
You do know that BBC was bought by InBev a while back? I always silently chuckle to myself when I see their “bienvenidos al 1%” signs around Bogota. Since their buyout, they’ve wasted no time in trying to corner the craft beer market in Bogota. You can’t throw a rock in the city without hitting a BBC or one of their new bodegas. Colombia’s craft beer brewers need a good shot in the arm. Right now, they’re too timid in regards to how they interpret their styles (especially the hoppier ones). There is a perception that the Colombian palette isn’t capable of handling strong flavors, so they just dumb down their beers in order to avoid rocking the boat. If they are stuck on brewing pedestrian beers, then so be it. However, it would be nice to see them push the envelope with some interesting seasonal releases or limited beers.
I’ll be there in Marzo for un semana to enjoy beauties that city has to offer 😉
Jeff, I attended the meet up at BBC last night but regret to say that I left early because music in the room was too loud. That setting in my view is not conducive to meaningful and effective communication.
Thanks for the feedback. Bogota Beer Company wasn’t very cooperative with us. We’ll be holding the Medellín meetups at different venues going forward. We’ll be looking for better venues that can better accommodate the 60 or more attendees. There will be a post on the Medellín Living site early next month about the next meetup.