Revamped Littleton brewery serves up plenty of activities

By Steve Graham

When Aaron Loffelmacher talks about a new brewery sport in Colorado, he can’t help dropping a “Ready Player One” reference.

“We were first to the key, first to the egg,” is his geeky way of saying the state’s first in-brewery pickleball courts were installed at Wild Sky Brewery in Littleton, where Loffelmacher is director of operations.

“We like our nerd things here,” he said. They also really like to give patrons something to do while they drink beer, seltzer, cider and cocktails.

Pop culture-themed pinball games, a pool table, cornhole courts and other activities fill an expansive indoor and outdoor space near West Chatfield Avenue and South Kipling Parkway. The building formerly housed a gymnastics facility, automotive businesses and, most recently, Blue Spruce Brewing. The ownership has remained the same, but there was a change of management, which prompted the rebranding from Blue Spruce to Wild Sky.

“We wanted something that was very open and expansive and spoke of hope and optimism and left us a lot of room to play with it in any direction,” said Loffelmacher of the new name.

Skylar Portenier and Aaron Loffelmacher | Photo provided

Wild Sky officially opened in May, and continues to expand its entertainment offerings. So far, the brewery has hosted everything from pub trivia and stand-up comedy to craft events and a silly adult spelling bee.

“It's less serious than it sounds. It's more comedy focused really, with obscure words or made-up words with some curveballs in there,” Loffelmacher said.

In the future, Wild Sky is looking to host a pinewood derby and other creative activities.

But the most prominent attraction is certainly pickleball. Loffelmacher said he thinks pickleball has yet to peak, and is attracting major stars.

“You've got guys like Andre Agassi and other former tennis players getting into pickleball,” he said. “It's become just like cornhole. I don't think anybody thought cornhole was going to be on ESPN.”

The sport is welcoming for a range of ages and abilities, and even the main complaint about pickleball is dampened, so to speak, at Wild Sky. Loffelmacher said the noisy pop of a pickleball against a paddle is less of a worry inside a brewery than at a quiet neighborhood court.

“General conversation and music really dilutes the noise,” he said. “That was a big concern initially from a lot of people, like, oh, it's going to be so loud. … It wasn't bothersome. It kind of sounds cool.”

He compared the sound to older bar games in the building.

“It's kind of like pinball machines,” Loffelmacher said. “Pinball machines make a bunch of noise, but it just sounds like fun.”

And he is all about keeping the game fun and relaxed, so he said he doesn’t want to start intense pickleball tournaments or anything too serious.

“We don't want anybody getting too competitive, so we're going to do a trick shot tournament,” Loffelmacher said.

The Wild Sky pickleball courts are available for reservations starting at 3 p.m. weekdays, and at 11 a.m. Friday to Sunday.

Music and movies are another draw at Wild Sky. The taproom hosts live music on Saturday nights, and movie nights just started this month. With plenty of parking and a location in the west metro area, the Wild Sky crew also hopes to attract tailgaters before Red Rocks concerts. They are even looking into buying a bus to shuttle fans to and from the amphitheater.

Between the activities, patrons can munch on pizzas, salads and Bavarian pretzels. Brewer Skylar Portenier said they plan to expand into sandwiches and possibly breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches if they start opening earlier for pickleball matches.

Portenier is still refining the beer lineup and solidifying her flagships. The bestseller so far is the Hazy Wookie IPA, followed by the Kyber Kolsch (another Star Wars reference) and the Temple of Sol Mexican Lager.

In addition to a wide range of beer styles, the bar started serving Slaymaker mead and the cocktail menu incorporates top-shelf Colorado spirits from Ballmer Peak Distillery, Mythology Distillery and Laws Whiskey.

Pickleball courts can be reserved here, and private events of various sizes at Wild Sky can be booked here.