Argentine brewery Ogham opens new Barcelona taproom

Argentine brewery Ogham have opened a new taproom in Barcelona, serving twelve different styles of craft beer, all brewed in their Poblenou facility.

The modern chic new bar features lots of false plants giving it the feel of a garden, making it an ideal meetup spot for an afterwork rendezvous with friends, with food options available for pica pica or even full meals to get your dinner.

The bar has some more space, but with fewer tables downstairs, for a more party vibe.

The new bar is just a reality thanks to a chat with a friend. "Honestly, it all started with a conversation with a friend, who became my business partner, who told me that because I was an engineer I should know how to make beer, but no, no, I didn't," Fermín Frayssinet, head brewer at Ogham, told Catalan News.

Versatility is crucial, as there is an "option to decide 'I want to eat pizza,' 'I want a burger,' 'I want a picada plate,' another person might want meat, and each person with their beer pairing, like what we saw today, trying different styles," he added.

The new locale, situated at Gran Vía, 604, in the Catalan capital, is the company's first international site. It offers over 400 square meters of space to enjoy while drinking craft beer.

Ogham were founded in Argentina in 2014 and have since expanded to opening 14 bars in Argentina. The new Barcelona locale is their first bar outside of Argentina, and they plan to expand even further, with another bar in Catalonia and two in Madrid coming soon.

"In Argentina, we have 14 bares, one brewery that makes close to 150,000 liters [of beer] per month, and in Spain, we have one brewery that can produce up to 90,000 liters per month, but at the moment, we're making around 25,000 liters per month, and this is the first bar we have in Spain," Frayssinet said.

Ancient Celtic alphabet

The name – 'Ogham' comes from an ancient Celtic alphabet. The founders wanted to find something related to Ireland as in Argentina, beer has a natural link with Ireland, so they found out about this historic form of writing used in the 4th-6th centuries AD predominantly in Ireland and thought it a good name. 

However, the idea to open a bar in Barcelona is for Argentines living in the Catalan capital to have a taste of a product from their home country, but also for locals to enjoy such a unique beer.

"We saw a market [for craft beer] here very similar to what was in Argentina 10 or 15 years ago; a young industry, people who did things well, the possibility to grow fast, a lot of potential, a lot of tourists who know craft beer, Barcelona knows craft beer well too, Spain in general does, so we thought we had to give it a push here," Frayssinet told this media outlet.