Bogotá's new, 'big' microbrewery

*2023 update: Cervecería Gigante's bar is now located at Calle 63 #10-46, on Plaza de Lourdes.

When it comes to beer drinking in Colombia, the market is dominated by the bog-standard Bavaria beers. The nation's tipple of choice is generally a Poker, Aguila or Costeña, with some opting for the more 'upmarket' Club Colombia. They're far from amazing, but they're fine all the same.

Cervecería Gigante: Quality beer at reasonable prices ...

Yet for those looking for a better beer-drinking experience, there are other, quality options available. The most popular in this regard is the Bogotá Beer Company, but it could be argued that it has drifted a bit from its artisanal origins (if it ever really had such). It's also generally priced quite high in the venues where its brews are sold; the cost of just a couple of pints is equivalent to half a day's wages for many.

Thankfully there are more attractive alternatives. One of those filling this value-for-money versus quality/originality void is Cervecería Gigante, the brainchild of California native Will Catlett.

We caught up with him over a tasty pint (or two or three!) recently to find out what has him brewing beers down this side of the Americas.

Wrong Way: What made you start up a microbrewery in Bogota?

Will Catlett: Being from California, home brew and craft beer is a major part of our culture. My interest in craft beer started as a teen, and I got my first home brew kit when I was 15. Needless to say, my interests in drinking beer at that age were quite different from what they are now, but it was always a passion and something I enjoyed doing.

There's also a social aspect that I always enjoyed, as you can share experiences about beer with anyone from anywhere around the world, and brewing with other people is always a good time to connect and share interests. But being that there is so much beer in California, and in the US in general, I never considered it an option simply based on the price and the competition.

So when I came to Colombia, I saw the lack of good beer, and I realised that the craft beer scene here would kick off soon. I had a restaurant for a while in La Candalería, and that was sort of my icebreaker in seeing how business works here, but it was kind of both a dream and a nightmare so I closed it and began thinking about what I wanted to do.

In my boredom/planning, I went to the only local home-brew shop I knew at the time and bought some ingredients and started trying to make some of my recipes from back home. As the ingredients were limited, I worked with what I had and eventually got some pretty decent beer. I did a few events around Bogotá trying to promote my beer just to see how it would go, and we ran out faster than I expected every time.

From there I started thinking more seriously about the project and started looking around to find a warehouse where I could have both the brewery and the pub. And thanks to a ton of support from my family and friends, about a year or so later here I am with a brewery and pub, moving right along, living my dream.

WW: You say your restaurant was both a dream and a nightmare! How has setting up & running the warehouse/pub been different? And how is business going so far?

WC: So there were various factors that made the restaurant both a success and a failure. To start off, that was my first experience owning and running a business. I had two business partners who helped out, but it wasn't enough to get things moving.

Both my lack of experience and fear of dedicating to one idea made it difficult for us to succeed. But we were very well located and our quality food, beer, and wine kept us afloat for quite a while. But in the long run, it wasn't enough to continue, and we eventually had to close.

In a sense I feel like what I'd done with the restaurant was really more of a distraction from what I really wanted to do, which was beer. Since opening the brewery and pub, I am happier than ever, and surprisingly it's a lot easier to run.

It's a lot more streamlined as far as the concept goes and it's a lot easier to capture my target market. With the craft beer scene being so new here it's really easy to connect with different markets and practically everyone shows interest right from the start. There is a growing community here in the craft beer scene and that definitely helps.

Running the brewery is fairly easy but it's a lot of work, dedication and endless things to do, but I enjoy every minute of it. The pub on the other hand is a bit more complicated, surprisingly a lot more work. Things are starting off well, but getting our name out to the general public is really the hard part, since we get most of our clients by word of mouth.

Most of my job at the pub is showing people the difference between craft beer and commercial beer, and not only why it's better, but to explain what quality beer really is and to make them pay attention to what they are actually consuming, and most of all, who they are supporting with their hard-earned money -- a greedy monopoly or a local, hardworking, passionate, small business owner.

It's not all about the beer, there's good grub as well ...

With craft breweries only having one per cent of the market share in Colombia, it's a slow process, but in the last few years it's come a long way, and I hope to be a part of the growing scene and culture as it expands, overcoming the challenges of competing with giants like Bavaria and SABMiller (now Anheuser-Busch InBev).

That's why the brewery is called Gigante, because that is what we have to be, no matter how small or how big we are, we will always strive to be bigger and better.

WW: So if a lucrative offer was to come from one of the brewing giants, what would your response be?!

WC: As far as one of the brewing giants buying me out or having partial ownership, at this point absolutely not. But if someone came by as a private investor I might be interested, but everything would depend on the offer. 

For me it's not about the money, it's about the idea and philosophy, so it's a very fine line between what I would or wouldn't accept. Although in almost all cases breweries are subjected to looking for bank loans or investors of some sort, not necessarily for starting up, but for increasing capacity and production, so it's not a theme I'm afraid to talk about.

WW: Finally, in a few words, for Cervecería Gigante newbies, what can they expect on a maiden visit?

WC: Good beer, good food, good service, a proper gastropub, and a unique atmosphere.

(We can vouch for that, and all at pretty reasonable prices, too, which can be difficult to find in Bogotá.)

*[See address update above] Cervecería Gigante's bar is open Thursday through to Saturday from 5 to 11 pm. It's located on Cra 22 # 70a-60. Pints (500 ml) of beer start from 7.000 COP, with 330 ml glasses from 5.000 COP.

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Not-so-price-smart Bogotá

For the last 20 months Bogotá's only regular quiz (trivia) night, IQuiz, has been on the go. It's still quite a niche event, a nature of the beast that it is, perhaps. 

Nonetheless, as a labour of love, it's been relatively successful and, going by the reaction of those who participate, an enjoyable, fun and lively event, which is what we want it to be.

Nice place, but overpriced for what you get ...

From an organisational and venue-sourcing point of view, it's been quite an experience. 

You see, for us, IQuiz is not meant to be exclusive, set aside for just a certain sector of Bogotá's inhabitants. Yet, in such a disparate, economically unequal city, balancing the needs of IQuiz with the desire to make it accessible to as many as possible has been tricky.

Generally speaking, the spacious, bar-style venues IQuiz requires are only to be found in the more affluent parts of the city, and that means paying multiples of what you'd pay in a more bog-standard setting (Colombia's strata system, where certain parts of the city pay much more for services, plays a part in this). 

Or if they're not in exclusive areas, such places usually sell their refreshments far pricier than the establishments around them. A case of 'give it a Western tinge, increase the price'.

More than just giving a place a Western flair (in music and style), the more Westerners or foreigners with money who frequent it, the greater justification for price hiking. Fair enough, if the clientele is happy to pay, repeatedly, your prices and with business going well, why would you consider lowering them?

Indeed, in many of the pubs we're referring to, the customers are people earning salaries that would be considered decent in more developed countries, with some being paid in dollars or euros. 

Also, there's the strategy, so it goes, that maintaining higher-than-average prices helps to keep undesirables away. Yet, for the likes of Bogotá's Zona T and Parque 93, it's unlikely that the ñero types will flock there to socialise, whatever the price. They might come, as some already do, for less innocent reasons. (In any case, gomelos — Bogotá's posh — can be just as unbearable as their ñero opposites.)

Obviously, it's a numbers game on two fronts: if people are still coming and you're in the black financially wise, then great.

However, from what we've witnessed, it appears that some of these 'finer' watering holes aren't exactly fulfilling their potential. It's actually difficult to see how they are making money at all. It's either a case of the owners having deep pockets or the business is being used for more sinister reasons.

Not only are the places that fall into this underperforming category overpriced and generally underwhelming, they have a service charge to boot. 

Now, tipping for a job well done is one thing, but almost forcing people to pay extra for being served when, more often than not, the ones doing the serving behave as if they'd prefer to be doing anything but, that's just a deal-breaker. We'll take the personal touch of the local tienda over such coldness any day.

It would be interesting to see some of these stale Western-style pubs adopt a sort of Ryanair approach: cut back the prices substantially to get customer numbers up. 

The arrival over the last couple of years of the Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) bodega franchise in the city was a half-turn in that direction. However, considering these bodegas only sell the 'fancy' BBC beers, they're still somewhat exclusive.

A lack of start-up capital is why the Wrong Way Pub hasn't opened its doors yet. Of course, were that to happen, we might just find that running a bar à la Ryanair wouldn't be viable. 

Be that as it may, for the moment, we'll try to keep bringing IQuiz and its associated discounts to a venue near you!
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What ales you?

This blog generally stands up for the underdog, those very much up against it. Well, this is certainly the case when it comes to social classes and the sporting arena.

It tends to be less so, however, when price comes into play. That is to say, value-for-money is the motto and very often, at this moment in time anyway, that leads to quantity over quality, wherever it can be found.

Poker: A Colombian beer 'giant'. (Image from Facebook.)

Now, it must be said that a lot of the time in Colombia, especially in relation to food, buying from the local vendors or producers is cheaper than going to the big national and multinational "monsters", in terms of grocery shopping and restaurants that is.

In that way, I still feel like I’m helping the little guys eke out a living. It’s usually the reverse in the developed world when it comes to buying food or eating out; getting it at lower prices typically means visiting the bigger chains.

As regards another recurring expense, one listed in the socialising category, it’s somewhat different. 

In the consumption of beer, the Colombian masses — as well as this writer, on the odd occasion — drink the mass-produced stuff. Well over 90 per cent of this market is in the hands of Bavaria, a Colombian company originally but now part of the global SABMiller group.

Thus, downing any of the Bavaria beers — from the cheaper (and slightly weaker) Aguila, Costeña, Pilsen and Poker to the somewhat fancier Club Colombia – is, in a sense, supporting a "monstrous" multinational.

Yet, these beers are readily available in the many little privately owned tiendas (bars-cum-shops) throughout Colombia. 

Plus, the more impoverished the barrio, the cheaper you’ll find the drinks. In this way, by going to such locations and having a few Bavaria-produced beers you’re supporting the poorer populations, pumping additional (little as it may be) money into the micro economy.

Bogotá Beer Company: Interesting initials.

On the flip side, you have the Bogotá Beer Company (BBC), which brands itself as ‘the biggest small brewery in Colombia’ (‘la cervecería pequeña más grande de Colombia’ in Spanish). Up against Bavaria/SABMiller, in terms of overall market share, it barely registers a beat.

So, in theory, it falls into the category of those I like to support. However, its market is quite removed from your typical bargain-basement Bavaria beer drinker. 

It only sells its produce – at a far greater price than the likes of Costeña or Poker – in its own pubs, more upmarket establishments and a couple of supermarket chains. You're talking about a more exclusive product, out of the daily reach of the majority of Colombians.

The BBC will point to what it sees as its superior quality and more artisanal approach in brewing compared to Bavaria. That may be so, but when it comes to letting the hair down, a fine ale retailing at least five times more than a mass-produced lager tends not to be the most attractive option.

What's more, it's not like those cheaper beers are unpalatable; on the contrary, they're rather agreeable to the taste buds.

In one regard, you might say choosing the Bavaria beers is supporting the simple over the sophisticated. And we could all do with toning things down every now and again, especially around this time of year.

Now, where did I leave that Macallan fine and rare?

Bogotá's simple pleasures

It should come as no surprise to you that we’re far from high-maintenance here at Wrong Way. It’s the simple, small things in life that we tend to derive most pleasure from.

Keep it simple, stupid

That’s why, for example, we like to do our grocery shopping in Bogotá at La 14 – the supermarket that feeds you for ‘free’ while you stock up. 

It is said that you should never shop on an empty stomach but having something to eat before you hit for La 14 (on weekend afternoons anyway) will only spoil your experience. Between the various complimentary servings on offer – meat, pasta, biscuits, cereal, fruit, ice-cream, you name it – you generally leave there quite satisfied. 

We’d nearly (nearly that is) pay a little bit more for such customer service. But get this, it’s about the best value supermarket around – as close to a win-win scenario you’ll get in these parts.

'Me regalas 'una grande' Servio, por favor.' Quality service with a smile.

When it comes to our favourite vice of alcohol we’re more than happy out knocking down a few 750 ml bottles of the national brews Aguila or Poker in a local tienda (‘old man’s bar’, as we’d refer to them in Ireland) for the very agreeable price of 2,300 pesos (about €1 or so). 

Go to the more upmarket Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) chains or the "Irish" Pubs and you’ll pay at least four times more for just three-quarters the quantity of booze. 

 

Plus, in those places you tend to be just another number. In our local tiendas, we’re greeted with a handshake and a smile each time we visit. It’s nice to feel welcomed (the fact we tend to polish off a nice few bottles plays its part in our being gleefully greeted. We do, after all, have to play up to the Irish stereotype).

The same goes for our regular café visits – we find the simple, rough-and-ready local ones far more agreeable in price, atmosphere and customer service (the latter we refer to in Latin American terms – the standards are pretty low on that front. See ‘Doing Business in SA’ http://bit.ly/LVpK8p for more). 

What’s more, we don’t tend to see a major difference in the quality compared to a "fancy" Juan Valdez or an Oma coffee house.

Simple, cheap & very satisfying - the local café.

For many Bogotanos, though, it’s not hip to be seen in your bog-standard café – the same goes for drinking in the tiendas. Such an approach is usually fine for the women because they don’t expect to pay anyway. 

You would think, then, that they’d allow the men choose the location, but no. We, however, are quite principled on this one, usually. 

Forking out greater-than-European prices to drink in places where, firstly, you're treated no better than dirt and, secondly, the clientèle and environment are generally very fake is not our thing. We can happily live without the people who frequent such places.

The above simple pleasures are ones we now know and expect. They still, of course, do the trick but it’s always nice to get treated from an unexpected source every now and again. 

However, such unplanned random experiences can be hard to come by in this city. We had one, though, on a recent buseta/colectivo journey.

OK, we have expressed before (see ‘Bogotá’s Transport Truths’ http://bit.ly/N68gKL and ‘Dulling Down Bogotá’ http://bit.ly/XdUg5U) our preference for these old-school city transport buses but that was more because we felt they were the least-bad option, not because we found taking them overly pleasurable.

What made this particular commute to one of our classes a stand-out experience was the conduct of our conductor or bus driver, if you will. 

As it was initially unclear from the colourful but confusing route display (nothing unusual there) if this bus we’d flagged down was going in the direction we needed, we had to ask the driver to make sure. 

Once Señor Conductor realised we were native English speakers, he immediately ushered us into his screened-off zone – a place usually reserved for family members or very, very good friends. 

This is the business class/VIP section of Bogotá public transport. A front-row seat right next to the driver, out of view from the "commoners" in the back. How privileged we felt.

The 'special' bus seat next to the driver - usually only reserved for family.

The reason he invited us in to his sanctuary was because he has a desire to learn English (although, our conversation was all in Spanish). We’ll let the fact slide that he has so far failed to follow up on his offer of inviting us to dinner – sure you can’t win them all. 

In any case, the special bus journey was enough to put is in a positive mood for the rest of the morning.

So as you can see we tend to be easily pleased here - very much subscribers to the 'keep it simple, stupid' principle. Alas, it can be hard to get the ladies to sign up to the same programme. We'll keep trying, though.