Photo courtesy of Chris Ivanovich
Home brewer and professional magician Chris Ivanovich is combining his passion for beer and home brewing with his love of magic to open a new, magic-themed microbrewery, Wizard Works Brewing (231 E. Buffalo St.). Ivanovich and his wife, Jenny Higgins, a performer whose roles include a current reign as Queen Elizabeth at the annual Bristol Renaissance Faire, will open Wizard Works in the space currently occupied by Broken Bat Brewing (Broken Bat will move to a larger location at 135 E. Pittsburgh Ave.).
Ivanovich, a Milwaukee native, began home brewing in his early 20s when he moved to Denver to attend college. Through the guidance of a home brew shop owner, a “very patient man who answered every stupid question I had,” Ivanovich learned the basics of home brewing. The brew shop owner later opened Wynkoop, Denver’s first brew pub—a rare concept in the ’80s—and Ivanovich was impressed.
“It wasn’t like a regular bar, where people were just sitting around and drinking,” he recalls. “They were drinking beer for the flavor. It was a totally different experience. I loved it and knew that I wanted to do that, too.” That very patient shop owner and brew pub owner, by the way, happened to be John Hickenlooper, who went on to become governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019.
Over the years, Ivanovich lived throughout the country and performed magic nationwide. He worked for nine years as the senior magician at Safe House. When Ivanovich decided to get serious about opening a brewery, Higgins and he participated in Barley to Barrel, a 10-week brewery incubator program where experienced craft brewers share guidance on everything from insurance to architectural designs of taprooms, branding and other industry details. Participants also split into groups and spent time at local breweries making batches of beer.
“Everyone has been so generous and kind at every brewery I’ve talked to,” he remarks. “They all seem to genuinely want me to succeed.” When Ivanovich learned that Broken Bat Brewing was selling their Buffalo Street location, he put in an offer, and it was accepted. He was impressed by the space, the seven-barrel brewing tank system and the Third Ward location. His first beer, First Rabbit porter, is currently available as a “guest tap” at Broken Bat.
Ivanovich’s goal is to make solid representations of classic styles of beer. “There’s beer with lots of names in the title and lots of words. I want to make beer-flavored beer,” he jokes. He’ll start with porter, stout, pale ale, IPA and sour. The space has 12 tap lines; Ivanovich plans to have about six to eight styles ready for the grand opening on Friday, April 3. Although the styles will be traditional, he said they may have some unusual things on tap from time to time, like elderberry sour.
He will also perform “magic bar” style of magic one night a week. “You do it behind the bar while people are drinking. It’s fast-paced and funny, and you’re serving drinks in the middle of doing tricks. There’s lots of jokes and interaction.”
The décor will be magic-themed, with vintage magic posters and a TV running a loop of great magicians doing their acts. “I’m also a fan of crazy beer laws,” he says, referring to little-known, antiquated laws still on the books throughout America. “In Colorado, you’re not allowed to be intoxicated and ride a horse—or a cow. In Alaska, it was illegal to give beer to a moose. But that law has been repealed, and you can now give your moose a beer. I’ve collected a few dozen of these laws and I might print and frame some or have them on a board featuring a crazy beer law of the week.”
For more information, visit wizardworksbrewing.com.
