106 APRIL 6-12, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | Kölsch season. No, not the spiced and/ or fruited ales that too often unneces- sarily use the name, but the delicate, clean, crisp, slightly hoppy pale beers served in 200-milliliter (6.7-ounce) cylindrical glasses called stanges. In Cologne, servers (or köbes) will pour an endless stream of these fresh beers, one after another, while marking them off on coasters until patrons cover their glass with the coaster to signal that they’ve had enough. Fritz Family Brewers, along with a handful of other local breweries, started offering this service in 2022. What separated Fritz from the pack was the use of a single dedicated server, which means no long waits between beers, and the kind of personalized service you’d expect in Cologne — albeit a little friendlier than the notorious köbes of the Rhine. The beer is damn good, too, snagging one of our top beers of 2022 slots. Best Beer Made With Mushrooms Coda Brewing’s Chanterelle de Garde 15965 South Golden Road, Golden 303-600-8591 codabrewing.com A beer made with mushrooms might sound strange at fi rst, but the delicate, earthy, fruity flavors of chanterelle mushrooms pair perfectly with Coda Brewing owner/brewer Luke Smith’s choice of the base style, Bière de Garde. The portion of the batch that was pack- aged sold out very quickly, thanks to popularity among the local foraging community, but there has been plenty of this unique beer available on draft. The beer changes over time, develop- ing notes of plum, apricot, fi g and, ac- cording to Smith, “Big League Chew bubble gum” as it ages like a fi ne wine. The mushrooms are either locally sourced or, during all-too-frequent dry spells in Colorado, purchased from the lush growing region of the Pacifi c Northwest. Best Beer to Drink Ringside Bierstadt Lagerhaus’s Helles 2875 Blake Street 720-570-7824 bierstadtlager.com On the fi rst Friday of the month in RiNo, grab a liter of excellent lager at Bierstadt Lagerhaus and take a ringside seat for Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling. The acts aren’t as dramatic as the entertainment wrestling of the ’80s and ’90s, but there are always laughs to go along with the evening’s impressive physicality. And what better choice to accompany the fun than Bierstadt’s helles, a very well-made beer that tastes great and goes down easy? Just keep an eye on your glass, as some of the wrestlers have been known to snag a sip or two from unsuspecting fans sitting in the front row — and no, you won’t get a replacement, because you’re now part of the show. Best Dual-Use Brewery Space Novel Strand Brewing and Queen City Collective Coffee 305 West 1st Avenue 720-949-0246 novelstrand.com queencitycollectivecoffee.com Most taprooms sit empty during the early mornings, since few patrons are out drink- ing at that time. In a novel approach, Novel Strand’s intimate and attractive space is occupied by Queen City Coffee Collective until mid-afternoon, when the beer starts fl owing. Novel Strand specializes in excel- lent hop-focused and European beers, and Queen City’s coffee has a top-notch reputa- tion around town. The brewery’s building, a corner unit with tall ceilings and win- dows that make you feel connected to the outside neighborhood, offers a lovely place to drink it all in, day or night. Best Brewery for Playing Games Wonderland Brewing 5450 West 120th Avenue, Broomfi eld 303-953-0400 wonderlandbrewing.com Wonderland Brewing has continued to grow its large array of games, recently adding another nine holes of mini golf, bringing the grand total to eighteen. With twenty pinball and arcade games along with table tennis, pickleball and cornhole setups, Wonderland is an ideal destination for anyone looking for some friendly com- petition. The eclectic beer menu includes some English and Belgian styles that are fast disappearing in the beer world, as well as more popular hoppy and dark American styles. There’s something for every taste at the Broomfi eld-based brewery, perfect for pairing with a putter or paddle. Best Bar for Playing Games The Monkey Bar 1112 Santa Fe Drive 720-939-4349 With cheap drinks, sticky fl oors and a de- cided lack of frills, Monkey Bar, the Santa Fe art district’s premier dive, has been a constant in the rapidly changing neigh- borhood. Although the bar doesn’t host any offi cial leagues, patrons can partake in a plethora of games, most of which are free to play. Darts, billiards, ping-pong and foosball tend to attract a crowd near the entrance, while beer pong and giant Jenga spill out onto the back patio. There are also video games like N64 and four-person Pac- Man, all available on a fi rst-come, fi rst- served basis. Gather your friends — human or canine, as the bar is dog-friendly — and come monkey around, or start an informal league of your own. Loser buys a round of pickle shots. Best Bar for Watching Games Stoney’s Bar & Grill 1111 Lincoln Street 303-830-6839 stoneysbarandgrill.com Although Stoney’s has an Uptown outpost and a Mexican spinoff on Broadway, the original on Lincoln Food and Drink continued from page 104 continued on page 108
