I moved to Buenos Aires in January 2015 with a single, three-part goal: to meet the guys from Bröeders Artesanal, to brew with them, and for our collaboration beer to be served at NOLA Buenos Aires, a Cajun gastropub and the exclusive purveyor of Bröeders beer.
And I succeeded in achieving my goal!
NOLA Buenos Aires: Cajun kitchen and Bröeders beer.
Shortly after I arrived in in Buenos Aires I started hanging out at NOLA. There, I met Francisco and Marcelo, the brothers behind Bröeders. Marcelo and I brewed our first collaboration beer, a black IPA, which was served on tap at NOLA Buenos Aires.
Black IPA with Bröeders
Bushido + Bröeders collaboration Black IPA on tap.
Marcelo and I continued to brew together and our collaboration beers were served on tap in the Palermo Soho neighborhood of Buenos Aires. We brewed three more collaboration beers: Coffee Porter, Mount Hood Mild, and Imperial IPA.
Coffee Porter with Bröeders
Bushido + Bröeders collaboration Coffee Porter on tap.
A pint of Bushido + Bröeders collaboration Coffee Porter.
Josh of Bushido and Marcelo of Bröeders.
Mount Hood Mild with Bröeders
Bushido + Bröeders collaboration Mount Hood Mild on tap at Bodega Cervecera.
Friends enjoying the collaboration Mount Hood Mild.
Imperial IPA with Bröeders
Bushido + Bröeders collaboration Imperial IPA on tap.
Pints of collaboration Imperial IPA being poured at NOLA. It was very popular and sold out fast.
Friends enjoying the Imperial IPA (and other Bröeders beers) at NOLA.
Then I reached for stretch goals, and other brewing opportunities presented themselves:
I started hanging out at Cerveceria Nacional, a hip craft beer bar and bottle shop in Palermo Hollywood. They sell bottles of cerveca artesanal from breweries in and around Buenos Aires, many of which are hard to find anywhere else, so naturally I was attracted to the place. It turns out that many local brewers also like to hang out there, so it was a perfect place to meet them…
It was at Cerveceria Nacional that I met Andres and Pablo of Gante Brewing Co. They were interested in collaborating and experimenting with spices, so we worked together to add a touch of vanilla to their IPA.
Vanilla IPA with Gante
Collaboration brew day at Gante Brewing Co.
Bushido + Gante collaboration Vanilla IPA.
Vanilla IPA was sold at Cerveceria Nacional and other fine craft beer bottle shops in Buenos Aires.
Our first collaboration beer was popular, so we collaborated a second time to brew a saison!
Saison with Gante
Collaboration brew day with Gante.
Bushido + Gante collaboration Saison.
It was also through Cerveceria Nacional that I met Fred and Laurent of Cerveza Keusters. We got to know each other when I visited them on a brew day, and they were also interested in doing a collaboration. We teamed up with a third brewer, Fernando from Cerveza Artesanal Taguató in La Plata, to brew an epic Belgian Royal Stout.
Belgian Royal Stout with Taguató and Keusters
Collaboration brew day with Taguató and Keusters.
Collaboration brew day with Taguató and Keusters.
Bushido + Taguató + Keusters collaboration Belgian Royal Stout on tap at Las Pintas.
Next I met Fede from Cerveza Nauta, and he was interested in collaborating. So we talked and worked together to brew a strong coffee porter. (Seriously, drink it for breakfast. If you have it at night, you’ll be awake all night.)
Coffee Porter with Nauta
Coffee for the collaboration Coffee Porter.
Coffee + Porter = Coffee Porter.
Bushido + Nauta collaboration Coffee Porter label featuring the Bushido Brewery mon.
Many beers were consumed at our table during the collaboration Coffee Porter release event.
I met the guys at Federal Cervecería Independiente pretty early during my time in BA. Their brewer, Maximo, wanted to collaborate, but their new brewery wasn’t ready yet. So we stayed in touch and when their brewery was operational we worked together to brew a special honey blonde ale with spices, which was served on tap in their beer garden.
Honey Blond with Federal
The brewery at Federal.
Special ingredients on collaboration brew day at Federal.
Federal collaboration brew day with Maximo.
I arrived in Buenos Aires with the goal of brewing one time with one brewery, and ended up brewing nine times with six breweries!
About half-way through my five-month stay in Argentina I met Ignacio of Bunsen, a chef who taught cooking classes in his kitchen. He wanted to do a beer brewing class and asked me if I wanted to teach it. I did, and through our collaboration I created Zero Barrier Beer, a 4-hour class with online take-home materials that shows you how to brew your own beer anywhere, with zero investment in special purpose equipment.
Zero Barrier Beer
Ingredients for a Zero Barrier beer.
Brewing a Zero Barrier beer in my Airbnb’d apartment in Buenos Aires.
Zero Barrier beers fermenting. From left to right: IPA, Saison, Stout.
Zero Barrier: from water to beer in two weeks.
When I moved to Buenos Aires I never guessed that Bushido Brewery would take off as a gypsy brewery the way that it did. But, to my surprise, it did! And I am so grateful for the learning and fun times I had brewing with all of my partner breweries in Buenos Aires.
Now I am moving Bushido Brewery to Santiago, Chile to continue the gypsy brewing there!
Bushido Brewery moves from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile!
