Origins
When you think of partying in Medellín, the first things that come to mind are the lights of Zona Rosa, the roar of El Poblado, or the lines in Provenza. Nobody — absolutely nobody — thinks of barrio Buenos Aires as an epicenter of nightlife. And that is exactly what makes it interesting.
Buenos Aires is a neighborhood of chimneys, exposed brick, and factories that today breathe something else. It is the territory of Medellín's industrial memory, located east of the city, heading up the road that leads to the José María Córdova airport. For decades, this sector was the city's productive lung: cars were assembled here, fabrics were woven, and above all, beer was made.
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The story of the craft beer festival in Buenos Aires cannot be understood without that industrial heritage. It is no coincidence that the city's most important taprooms have decided to set up shop among recycled warehouses and restored sheds. It is a conscious nod to what this land once was: a place where things were produced, where people sweated, where the city was built with their hands.
The craft beer phenomenon in Medellín is recent — barely a decade old — but its anchor in Buenos Aires gave it a historical depth that no other neighborhood could offer. While in other parts of the city craft beer was sold as an imported fad, here it was presented as a natural continuation of an industrial tradition that never fully went away.
The first attempt at a beer festival in the area occurred around 2017, when a group of small local producers organized a warehouse takeover with kegs and cheese boards. It was a modest event, the kind that spreads by word of mouth, without much production. But the seed was planted: the neighborhood proved it had the infrastructure, the space, and the attitude to host something bigger.
Today, that initial effort has consolidated into what we know as the Buenos Aires Brew Fest, an event that each year brings together dozens of independent brands at the former industrial complex, and which in September 2026 promises to be the most ambitious edition to date.
Timeline or historical milestones
The golden era of Cervecería Unión (1905-1960)
To understand the festival, you have to go back more than a century. In 1905, a group of Antioquian entrepreneurs founded Cervecería Unión in what we now know as the Buenos Aires sector. It was not the city's first brewery — that honor goes to Cervecería Antioqueña — but it was the one that defined the industrial character of the area.
Cervecería Unión occupied an entire block between carrera 42 and calle 44, with its iconic brick buildings and enormous boilers. In its best years, it employed more than 300 workers from the neighborhood, who lived nearby and formed the social fabric of Buenos Aires. The stories of workers leaving the night shift and grabbing a "pola" at the corner store are part of local folklore.
In 1930, Cervecería Unión merged with other brands to create what would eventually become Bavaria, the Colombian beer giant. But unlike other plants that were absorbed and closed, the Buenos Aires facilities continued operating for decades, adapting to the times.
The industrial decline (1960-1990)
The second half of the 20th century brought profound changes. Beer production was centralized in larger, more modern plants in other municipalities of the Valle de Aburrá, and the Buenos Aires facilities gradually lost prominence. By the 1980s, much of the complex was underutilized.
The neighborhood fell into a kind of lethargy. The warehouses that once roared with machinery now housed merchandise depots or simply remained empty. The memory of the place was preserved in the brick walls and in the stories of grandparents who still remembered the smell of toasted malt floating in the air.
The reconversion: Claustro de San Ignacio and the rebirth (2000-2015)
The turning point came with the purchase of the former Cervecería Unión complex by the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. The educational institution transformed the facilities into what is now known as the Claustro de San Ignacio, a university campus that preserved the original industrial architecture.
This reconversion was key. Suddenly, barrio Buenos Aires received an injection of new life: students, professors, cultural ventures. The warehouses around the claustro began to be seen in a new light. They were no longer remnants of an industrial past, but spaces with character, with history, with identity.
It was in this context that the first craft beer producers saw an opportunity. What better place for a craft brewery than a neighborhood that was literally built around a brewery?
The arrival of taprooms (2016-2020)
The year 2016 marked a before and after. The brand 3 Cordilleras — one of the pioneers of craft beer in Medellín — decided to establish its brewery and taproom in the sector, in a former warehouse on carrera 50 with calle 47. The choice was no coincidence: they were looking for a space that would resonate with the city's industrial tradition.
Shortly after, VeinteMil — another local brand with a strong identity — joined the movement, setting up its operation in a restored shed a few blocks away. These two anchors attracted other smaller producers, creating a unique brewing cluster in the city.
The first Buenos Aires Brew Fest was held in 2019, taking advantage of the facilities at Claustro de San Ignacio and the surrounding warehouses. It was a resounding success, with more than 3,000 attendees over two days. The 2020 pandemic forced a pause, but the event returned with force in 2022 and hasn't stopped since.
Key figures or events
Don Jorge Restrepo, the last brewmaster of Unión
Don Jorge worked at Cervecería Unión from 1958 until its partial closure in 1975. Today he is 89 years old and lives three blocks from Claustro de San Ignacio. Every year, the Buenos Aires Brew Fest invites him as a guest of honor to tell stories about what it was like to brew beer in an era without digital temperature controls, where everything depended on smell and experience.
"People today talk about American hops and Belgian yeasts," says Don Jorge with a laugh. "We made one beer, well made, and we called it 'the neighborhood blonde.' I never thought I'd see my neighborhood become the beer capital again."
Catalina Mejía, founder of VeinteMil
Catalina is the most visible face of the craft beer movement in Buenos Aires. A chemical engineer by profession, she left her job at a multinational in 2017 to found VeinteMil, a brand named after the number of bottles she hoped to produce in her first year.
"When I looked for a location, I checked out El Poblado, Laureles, Manila. But everything was too expensive or too 'gentrified.' When I saw the warehouses in Buenos Aires, I knew it was the place. This neighborhood has soul, it has history, and people feel it," says Catalina, who today leads one of the most respected brands on the local circuit.
VeinteMil was one of the driving forces behind creating the Buenos Aires Brew Fest as a community event, not just a commercial one. "We wanted the festival to be of the neighborhood, not just in the neighborhood. It's a subtle but enormous difference," she explains.
The key event: the alliance with La Toma Cervecera
In 2024, the organizers of the Buenos Aires Brew Fest established a strategic alliance with La Toma Cervecera, the most important beer event platform in Colombia. This collaboration elevated the festival's profile, allowing them to bring brands from other regions of the country and abroad.
La Toma Cervecera — whose stated mission is "to take over spaces to create festivals where hops meet the fire of the grill and the roar of live bands" — found in Buenos Aires the perfect setting for its proposal. The old industrial courtyards, with their natural acoustics and exposed brick aesthetics, offer an atmosphere that no convention center warehouse can replicate.
The alliance also brought a philosophy: responsible consumption, support for independent producers, and integration with the local community. The festival is not just a tasting event; it is a statement of principles about what the beer industry in Colombia should look like.
Current status
In September 2026, the Buenos Aires Brew Fest has established itself as the most important craft beer event in Medellín, surpassing in character and authenticity the massive fairs held at the Plaza Mayor convention center. This year's edition, scheduled for the third weekend of September, expects to welcome more than 8,000 visitors over three days of festival.
The epicenter remains the Claustro de San Ignacio, whose courtyards and classrooms are transformed into tasting rooms and conversation spaces. But the festival extends throughout the neighborhood: the warehouses of 3 Cordilleras and VeinteMil open their doors for guided tours, and local small businesses — bakeries, corner stores, family restaurants — benefit from the influx of visitors.
The programming: more than just drinking beer
The Buenos Aires Brew Fest is not just a tasting event. The 2026 programming includes:
- Guided tastings by brewmasters in the former Cervecería Unión facilities, where attendees can learn about historical styles and compare them with modern interpretations.
- Heritage walking tours through the neighborhood, visiting key sites from the industrial era and hearing stories from former workers.
- Local rock and punk bands performing on stages set up in the industrial courtyards. The musical selection is deliberately alternative: you won't find reggaeton here, but raw sounds that match the factory aesthetic.
- Gastronomic zone with food trucks and local grills, where the proposal is to pair craft beers with Antioquian street food.
How to participate in the 2026 edition
This year's edition will take place on Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20, 2026, at the Claustro de San Ignacio and the surrounding warehouses of barrio Buenos Aires. Tickets are available through the La Toma Cervecera platform (latomacervecera.com), with prices ranging from $45,000 COP for general one-day admission to $120,000 COP for the full pass with access to special tastings. Reference prices as of September 2026, subject to change.
For those seeking a deeper experience, it is recommended to purchase the ticket with the guided tour of the historic breweries, which includes internal transportation between participating taprooms and a vertical tasting at each one. Guided tours have limited capacity, so it's best to book in advance.
If you're coming from other parts of the city, the easiest way to get to the festival is via the Medellín Metro, getting off at the Buenos Aires station and walking about six blocks east. There are also integrated bus system routes that drop you off nearby.
