Monumental Beer Works

Paddling upstream through a river of hazy IPA

Jacob Penick — People Editor

There’s a certain feeling that’s common among local businesses here in Grand Junction. The feeling may be completely indescribable, irrational even, but we all feel it when we walk into our favorite coffee shop/pizza joint/etc. The feeling that the business exists not only to provide a service, but to be a central part of the culture and community in the valley. Everyone; we have a new cultural center.

Monumental Beer Works, located at 2575 Highway 6 & 50, had their grand opening on March 19. Governor Polis announced a mandated closure of breweries to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 only two days prior. Within those two days, Monumental had to completely rethink the business model they had been building since the very beginning. 

Brian Fischer, part owner alongside his wife Laura Fischer, Megan Westfall, and Nick Westfall, expressed the sheer stressfulness of that situation. 

“To get open in those two days between Polis’s announcements and the grand opening, we had to change over to an all-to-go model,” said Fischer. “We had no growlers. We had two hundred cans.” 

Since all on-tap beer would need to be to-go, growlers were just about the only option for customers to bring and use. Luckily, friends from around the valley donated growlers. Palisade Brewing, Copper Club Brewing, and Lil Ole Winemaker all pitched in with growlers and lids. 

However, selling mostly growlers full of beer presents a problem any brewery would be proud to have; they’re running out of beer. Monumental was structured around 13oz and 16oz pours being served in-house along with tallboy cans. A growler is 64oz and way foamier, which means more waste. One pour on the to-go-growler model is essentially four pours on the original business model. And business has been GOOD. Fischer is grateful that Monumental has been able to push through government-mandated restrictions and pay their bills over the last month and a half.

Fischer mentioned that they started with two hundred cans. “In this month, we’ve received six thousand, almost seven thousand cans just to try and keep up,” said Fischer. People are into this place. The community mindset, the beautiful space, and the phenomenal beer all generate a response. 

By far, the most popular creation currently made at Monumental is the Junction Juice hazy IPA, a local-style IPA that’s too fresh for words. I also got my hands on a glass of their Perfect Cadence Kolsch while I visited and, as a Kolsch fan, I was so pleased. Crisp as all hell. For a full look at their current lineup as well as all sorts of other info, check out their site: https://www.monumentalbeerworks.com/.

If you’re interested in sitting down at the bar and running through Monumental’s on-tap list in person, the opportunity may come sooner than you expect. 

“We are waiting for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Governor Polis’s office to approve the Mesa County Variance,” said Fischer. “The Mesa County Variance would allow restaurants and tasting rooms like ours to open at thirty percent capacity. So we were planning on opening Monday at thirty percent capacity, because Polis has twice said that he was going to approve the Variance, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

Public access would not be open and free as the days pre-pandemic, but it’s a step in that direction that Fischer is excited to take. 

“I called the health department again yesterday,” said Fischer. “We’ve been in constant contact with them to make sure we’re doing the right thing, protecting our employees and protecting the public and just making sure we were reading the Variance correctly, and they said, ‘yeah, you’ll be able to open if he approves it.’ So that’s what we’ve been waiting for.” 

Keep a close eye on Monumental’s site for further updates regarding a limited opening. Fischer said that dine-in services would work exclusively on a reservation block system with sanitizing parties after each block. So, be prepared to call ahead! For now, to-go is always an option, so haul your growlers down to Monumental.

Monumental is small and intends to stay small. Fischer is ecstatic about the community aspect of his business. Walking through the front doors, it’s abundantly clear that Monumental will quickly become a local staple — something Grand Junction people can be proud of.

“You have to be authentic,” said Fischer. “We’ve made sure that everything that we do is authentic to who we are as people.” 

There’s local art on the walls, most of it for sale. Most of the puzzle pieces of the building are locally sourced. Every bit of wood you see in the brewery is repurposed. The sink behind the bar came from the old downtown City Market. All of the dirty renovation work, the ripping insulation and tearing down walls, was done by Monumental owners and staff. Cost-effective sustainability is the name of the game. 

Beyond personal sustainability, Monumental is already giving profits right back to the community. Even though the brewery is only  a month old, they’ve already made donations to the food bank as well as The Avalon Theatre Foundation. You can taste the passion for this community in their beer.