Best-of list · Craft Beer
The best craft beer in Medellín for 2026: Apostol in Sabaneta, 3 Cordilleras and its Friday tour, Libre Cerveceria, and The Corner Bar in Laureles.
The short answer
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Medellin's craft beer scene is young, and it is honest about its size. The big names brew at the edges of the city while a handful of bars pour the good local stuff in the neighborhoods. We checked each spot against its own channels and current beer guides, and the four below are the ones we could confirm are open and pouring in 2026. Several names from older lists could not be verified, so this guide leaves them out rather than send you to a closed door.
Apostol started in 2009 when a few Antioqueno families set out to brew German and Belgian styles in Sabaneta, just south of the city. The Sabaneta plant opens to the public on Thursday evenings for a tour and a tasting of its five core beers plus a couple of seasonals. Take the ride south, book the Thursday tasting, and start with the amber. For drinkers who want to meet the brewery that helped start it all.
3 Cordilleras opened in 2008 as Medellin's first craft brewery, and its Friday night tour has become a local rite of passage. From 7pm the brewery floor fills with a live band, and the 45,000-peso ticket pours five beers, the Mestiza pale among them. Go on a Friday, bring friends, and let the music carry the room. For anyone who wants the story of Medellin beer from the source.
Full listing & hours →Libre Cerveceria pours both at its own taproom and on the taps at Foxey Pub in the Manila neighborhood, and it has built a steady following among the city's beer drinkers. The lineup runs hoppy and clean, best sampled as a flight. Settle in at the taproom, order a flight, and ask what is fresh that week. For the drinker who would rather compare four beers than commit to one.
The Corner Bar sits in Laureles, the leafy grid that locals favor over tourist-heavy El Poblado, pouring rotating Colombian craft taps in a low-key neighborhood room. It rewards a slow evening more than a big night out. Walk the Laureles streets, pull up at the bar, and ask the staff to point you to a local brewery you have not tried. For travelers who want the city's quieter side.