By Steve Graham

Most Colorado craft breweries tolerate and even accommodate kids with some snacks and sodas and maybe a couple of board games. But as a father of small children and a craft beer fan, I don’t always feel the whole gang is welcome at the bar. So. I traveled the Front Range with my 4-year-old son to find the most kid-friendly taprooms.

Intersect Brewing

Since opening last year, Intersect Brewing in west Fort Collins has found its niche with the family crowd. I often find myself picking up supplies at Ace Hardware, then heading a few doors down to the brewery with the kids. (Yeah, I might as well just tattoo “dad” on my forehead.)

My family could just move into Intersect, the brewery that inspired this list. They had me with the Wilco tour posters, Bruce Springsteen quotes and, of course, a great IPA. And the kids can play with almost as many toys and books as in their bedrooms.

Intersect is run by parents of small children, and it shows.

They have plenty of toys, even for tiny tots.

One section of the taproom is practically a nursery, with soft foam floor mats, a train set and well-stocked kids’ bookshelves. And the outside is perfect for bigger kids. The huge back patio has cornhole sets, darts, large intersecting (see what I did there?) blocks and plenty of room to run.

Something Brewery

Brighton’s first brewery, Something Brewery, has something for everyone (the name comes from the tendency of patrons to ask for “something hoppy” or “something dark” at the bar). Co-founder Dave Allegrezza was tending bar when I stopped in recently for a citrus saison and a game of Connect 4 with my son.

He said they attract more business by trying to draw families, so the back of the long and narrow pub space is dimly lit but kid-friendly. They have a big Jenga set, a classic arcade game player and about 30 board games ranging from Uno to Cards Against Humanity (ok, not so kid friendly) and, appropriately, Brewopoly. There is also an X-Box hooked up to the bar TV, and cheap sodas and snacks to keep the kids sated.

The brewery specializes in tea-infused beers, including a mango pineapple pale ale and a vanilla coconut porter, but also brews a broad selection of other beers including the top-selling vanilla Irish red.

Finkel and Garf

In a warehouse district at the Gunbarrel end of Boulder is Finkel and Garf, an indoor playground that also happens to make good beer.

It’s clear from the brewery logo, which includes a windup toy and a big wheel, that these folks love toys.

Every table has a box of Duplo Lego, and the patio is a field of fake turf. One wall of the brewery is dominated by a giant ball maze constructed by a local artist, and the opposite wall is hung with classic miniature wooden versions of some classic bar games, including (airless) air hockey, bowling and shuffleboard. There are also plenty of board games.

Oreos, Twinkies and other cheap, kid-friendly snacks are somewhat artistically displayed around the taps at the bar.

Even the drinks aim to please the young at heart. They have a popular twist on a root beer float, or a black-and-black, if you will: layers of house-made root beer and milk stout.

Finkel and Garf also pours a good cream ale (nitro optional) and a rye saison alongside the more typical lager and IPA.

Wonderland Brewing

If you’re going to name your brewery after a kids’ classic and use a grinning Cheshire Cat in your logo, it had better be fun for the whole family.

Wonderland Brewing in Broomfield certainly lives up to the name. Housed in a huge warehouse-like former church, at least half the brewery is filled with ping pong tables and pinball games. There is also a coin-operated frog ride for younger kids.

And if you’re looking to expand the family or shrink the dad bod, Wonderland also hosts monthly brewery boot camp workout sessions and dog rescue adoption events.

With all of this fun, you might almost forget about the beer, but Wonderland has 12 taps of homemade goodness ranging from a German wheat to an English pub ale to an American black IPA.

Bonus: Colorado Mountain Brewery

I’m throwing in an extra brewery that I admittedly didn’t kid-test, but it might be a real treat for a well-behaved train aficionado. Colorado Mountain Brewery has an upscale restaurant in an old train roundhouse in west Colorado Springs, near old Colorado City, with gourmet food and classic craft brews, including an IPA, a stout and an amber.

- Steve Graham is writer and editor who lives in Fort Collins with his family.