Coldest Beer & Bar Guide 2012 

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Faces
50.0°
This quaint North Salt Lake bar and grill got its name on account of all the different kinds of faces that come through to enjoy tasty lunches, cold beers and a full bar. The welcoming atmosphere is supported by friendly owner/operators ready at hand with cool drinks and an affordable but tasty soul-food menu that includes barbecue, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and the popular fried catfish and fried-catfish nuggets. When planning your visit, keep in mind that Faces is open just for lunch on weekdays and only on weekend evenings, excluding Sunday. 659 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City, 801-596-0344

Fiddler’s Elbow
39.4°
A Sugar House institution since 1996, Fiddler’s many tables and booths are packed with sports fans who want good beer, good company and stellar wings while they watch the Utes. Saturdays feature a world-famous breakfast, and Sundays are home to the Prime-rib buffet brunch. With 32 beers on tap, including many locals, you’re unlikely to be disappointed when seeking a pint of your favorite froth to quaff. 1063 E. 2100 South, 801-463-9393, FiddlersElbowSLC.com

Gracie’s
32.7°
Offering myriad pleasures all under one roof, Gracie’s can make a drinking-age adult feel like a toddler in a toy store. This West Temple multilevel hotspot lives up to its gastropub billing by serving an array of appetizing dishes in a variety of seemly settings. Soak up some sun as you watch passersby from the second story, share a fresh melon cocktail and a smoke on the ground-floor patio, or head inside to shoot pool and follow a game on the big screen. Not to your liking? Then come anyway for the live music, DJs, trivia, shuffleboard and Sunday-night cornhole tournament. 326 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, 801-819-7565, GraciesSLC.com

High West Distillery & Saloon
38.6°
With a distinctive mellow taste in country music, High West has a rustic intimacy that makes the former horse livery—now distillery and restaurant—a pleasure to visit. This up-market roadhouse displays a cultivated taste in everything from its Spanish cheeses to the whiskey and chocolate pairings for dessert. The entire property was moved back five feet to provide ample space for a comfortable, well-designed patio. In the basement, you’ll find the distillery and—on our visit, at least—a chalkboard with a complicated chemical equation demonstrating the complexities that go into High West’s offerings. 703 Park Ave., Park City, 435-649-8300, HighWest.com

Inferno Cantina
38.9°
A Mexican restaurant by day and a dance club by night, the self-styled “only tequila bar” in Salt Lake City has a menu that will whet your appetite, and cocktails to wet your whistle. The décor inside is festive and bright, replete with faux-coral pillars and bamboo siding—while flames lap from gas torches on the outdoor patio and flirty staff round out the beach-bar motif. Live bands play on Sunday Fun Day, and DJs set the dance floor en fuego every Friday and Saturday night. 122 W. Pierpont Ave., Salt Lake City, 801-883-8838, InfernoSLC.com

J & J Lounge
32.9°
The J & J Lounge is a family-owned business that started back in 1976, making it the definitive Tooele neighborhood bar. This cash-only spot is dressed with aged wood, antique beer swag on the walls and a couple of pool tables. Though the bar is known for cheap drinks, the locals also stop by daily for the food. If you’re in the neighborhood, check out the famous chicken-noodle-topped mashed potatoes. 46 N. Broadway, Tooele, 435-882-7605

Lucky 13
41.2°
This food-oriented sports bar is willing to pony up $500 to those who can finish two of their mile-high burgers with fries. If power eating isn’t your thing, come by for Sunday brunch and sip on a bacon-filled Bloody Mary while watching the morning game, or order one of Lucky 13’s famous, flavorful garlic burger or bacon burger. Everything’s made slowly and with care, so there might be a wait for your food to arrive at the table—but it’s definitely worth it. Distract your growling stomach by showing off your smarts on geek-quiz Wednesdays or relaxing outside on the large patio, complete with heaters in the winter, booming sound and big-screen TVs. 135 W. 1300 South, Salt Lake City, 801-487-4482, Lucky13SLC.com

Maxwell’s East Coast Eatery
43.5°
The handsome, dark-wood bar that stretches through Maxwell’s was hand-built with the help of the staff you see diligently serving the clientele. It’s clear they take pride in the bar, and while they serve the delicious Fat Kid pizza that founder Steven Maxwell built his reputation on, this high-volume sports bar has worked just as hard to develop its own Cheers-type atmosphere—according to one manager, 75 percent of the clientele are regulars who come in several times a week. Enough said. 1456 Newpark Blvd., Park City, 435-647-0304, MaxwellsECE.com

Poplar Street Pub
37.7°
It’s easy to imagine an enjoyable way to spend any hour of the day at this casual downtown SLC hangout. For lunch, the full menu of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and pizzas is built to satisfy; at night, the patio bar offers convenient service; and live music entertains on Friday and Saturday. There’s even an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch with $4 mimosas, just in case your mornings feel incomplete without a little Poplar Street. 242 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City, 801-532-2715, PoplarStreetPub.com

Totem’s
33.7°
Like a palace of wood, bars, icy beers and delicious victuals, Totem’s is a massive bar with something for everybody. Between five bars on the club side alone, poker and pool tables, a patio and a karaoke stage, Totem’s packs the floor with diversions and some of the coldest beer on the west side—which also pairs well with the great menu that includes spicy breaded chicken wings, killer steaks and housemade tamales and tortillas. 538 S. Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, 801-975-0401

Trolley Wing Company
40.5°
Trolley Wing Company is a high-energy joint located on the upper floor of Trolley Square. The menu centers around wings, which are served with your choice of 13 housemade sauces, and beer to wash them down. If you don’t feel like paying, try the Enema Challenge: 12 wings in the hottest sauce. If you can finish them in 30 minutes, there’s no charge. 602 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City, 801-538-0745, TrolleyWingCo.com

Naughty & Nice

The Bears Den
34.3°
The Magna strip club gets its name from a giant bear that the owner shot years ago and now stands stuffed in the main room. The Bears Den resembles the man cave you wished you owned—it’s adorned with antique beer signs, stuff that’s been shot and, of course, scantily clad ladies. With cheap drinks like $1.50 MGDs and signature shots like the Hump Day (Three Olive Birthday Cake vodka, pineapple juice and grenadine topped with whipped cream), The Bears Den is a bar for guys who like bars. 8785 W. 2700 South, Magna, 801-250-6616

Club Wet
42.6°
After a 2009 update to Ogden’s zoning ordinance, Club Wet—located, luckily, far away from any malls, parks or churches—is now the only strip club left in Ogden (and northern Utah in general). But Club Wet isn’t resting on its guaranteed-clientele laurels: The club strives to please its guests in all possible ways, whether with the erotic shows happening onstage, the Thursday $5 steak dinners or bartender Jake Jessop’s White Trash Swimming Pool cocktail (as you might guess, it contains a little bit of everything). There’s also a swanky private balcony overlooking the stage—perfect for bachelor parties—and a back patio that opens at night with its own rolling bar and occasional karaoke. 2706 S. 1900 West, Ogden, 801-395-1517, Club-Wet.com

Pinky’s Gentlemen’s Club
38.1°
This strip club, which boasts Salt Lake City’s only spinning stripper pole, as well as a pool table covered in pink felt, may look rough and tumble on the outside. But for all its derring-do, Pinky’s offers a sweet neighborhood hangout. The bar’s manager, Andrea, says it’s mostly regulars, and she really does know their names. “It’s Cheers with boobies,” she claims. The house specialty drink is the Spider Bite, made with Tarantula Azul and Red Bull. Not only does Pinky’s offer a full menu of assorted pub grub, but also free lunch, Monday through Friday. An expanded patio is under construction as you read. 4141 S. State, Murray, 801-261-3463, PinkysTopless.com

Duces Wild
33.4°
They call it “your slightly naughty neighborhood bar” and, even though this section of 300 West is no one’s neighborhood, Duces Wild does have a friendly vibe—and yes, the dancers are slightly naughty (a little more so if you’re prepared to make it rain). Besides strippers taking shifts on the single central stage, there are plenty of pool tables and video games should you, for some reason, need a distraction from nearly naked ladies. 2750 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City, 801-467-4600, DucesWildSLC.com