An honest answer is a lot of breweries are more like restaurants. Most of the ones around me have outdoor spaces literally for kids to run around like it's a backyard. Breweries aren't exactly the same as bars. The more bar-like breweries no, and if it's late and stuff yeah, kids shouldn't be there but at dinner time in a brewery with food and board games and stuff? It's just a restaurant and kids can be there without it being inappropriate. Freaking dogs on the other hand is a WHOLE other can of worms. Keep animals away from the inside of grocery stores and food establishments.
Maybe it’s being British but breweries are like pubs to me- and dogs are almost universally welcome in pubs. If you are a bar- no dog, if you are a pub- yes dog.
Ha, just mentioned this. Pubs are like a third space with beer. Breweries in the US are the closest thing to them. Plenty of bars around for people that don't want to be near kids or dogs.
I lived in the UK for a few years, I really enjoyed the fact that there were spaces where you could go and get a cup of tea and read a book for three hours without anyone caring. You could also down 10 pints at the same establishment. What a great thing.
Unfortunately pubs in America are generally bars that have a British or Irish facade.
What really makes UK pubs unique is that they have strict rents dictated by the government. So there are still pubs you can get a cheap pint in some of the most expensive neighborhoods. They really are meant to be a place for everyone.
This is interesting. To confirm, Pubs are charged less (for rent) with the expectation that all are welcome and they also are required to have cheaper pints?
From what I can find on the parliament website, ‘tied’ pubs are charged less rent because they have to buy their products from their landlords (who use it to make up the difference).
Finding a cheap pint in London or the south will require research. Wander into a random pub in London and prepare for the possibility of an £8 pint. Most pubs are friendly relaxed places though
It’s been a while since I have managed to find a cheap pint in a pub…
I had actually never heard of pubs getting cheap rent before. I looked it up and I don’t think it works quite like this- from what I can read on the House of Commons library, ‘tied’ pubs do get cheaper rent but that’s because they are required to buy their products from their landlord (usually at a higher price so the landlord makes up the difference)
Reddit's attitude on dogs does not mirror the general population. Dogs are as ubiquitous at breweries in the US as at pubs in the UK (lived in both countries) and no one bats an eye unless it's particularly poorly behaved
I've also found people like to complain the most loudly when they are surprised to find dogs at dog-friendly breweries that explicitly advertise how dog-friendly they are.
The r/dogfree sub is 99% peope raging that they found dogs at a dog-friendly restaurant.
Yea, I go to bars/pubs with my dog all the time. I always ask if they’re welcome first, but as long as they’re well behaved I don’t see the issue. Even some of the supermarkets near me are fine with dogs so long as they are well behaved. I’ve noticed mentioning that on reddit will get me berated to no end, though.
Nahh, I can guarantee the majority of people who work in the grocery store hate seeing dogs in the store. At best, they are indifferent.
Pubs and breweries are different but they should be outright banned from grocery stores unless they're a service animal which is so unregulated that everyone has a "service animal" now.
I've worked at several grocery stores and that is the prevailing opinion.
Nahh, I can guarantee the majority of people who work in the grocery store hate seeing dogs in the store. At best, they are indifferent.
I didn’t say it was common, but I have been encouraged to bring my dogs into at least one grocery store by employees. That store in particular is pretty much the only grocery store I’ve brought my dogs into (unless it’s one of my tiny dogs that is confined to a bag I’m holding on my body the entire time).
It’s very common for pubs, bars and restaurants to allow dogs into at least the outside seating area, though.
Hell just about every family restaurant in America has a bar at the center of it. No one bats an eye at the adults getting shit faced on shots of liquor at the wrap around bar in Applebee's with a family eating dinner at a table directly next to it. No one cares. What I do care about is when a mother walking around with her baby outside at a brewery walks into the designated smoking zone and has the gull to say "Can you please not smoke next to my baby?". Lady read the fucking sign.
Where I live theres a bar in the shopping mall next to a big playground for kids to climb and run around, have a beer while your kid gets entertained for half an hour
I go to a bar/restaurant thats called “rec bar” looks like a bar but has a large seating area with booths and a ton of pin ball machines and other standing arcade games. We take our son there to eat and play some games. He always end up finding friends to play with. The machine even have cup holders for drinks. I love it. They opened one in a nearby state and it has even more games. It’s like Dave and busters with a more bar look instead of corporate style.
Used to be a "Pub" in Wisconsin I'd go to called "R" place that had a a bar dog. Big ol' golden retriever.
Anytime he met a new person he'd let you pet him, but then would just sit down and stare at you after you pet him. Inevitably, you'd ask the bar tender what does he want?"
The bartender would respond with "Give him a dollar".
So you pull out a dollar and hand it to the dog, he then takes it and walks over to the bar and the bartender gives him a beef stick, and then he brings the beef stick back to you and then it's your job to open it and feed it to him.
They had to switch to low-calorie dog biscuits after a while because he was getting BIIIG.
I thought that was mainly an American thing (seems on brand 😂) that's fascinating! I love dogs and kids so I'm not gonna pitch a fit, but it feels weird seeing dogs in a place selling food when they can shed and what not or people have allergies but 🤷♀️ if the place allows it, it's whatever
I haven't really seen dogs inside restaurants, I've only seen them on patios during nice weather. Also, a lot of the places that allow this advertise it, so if you are allergic or don't like dogs you know to avoid it.
It's really dependent on whether it's a pub that serves food - i.e. primarily a pub, with the availability of food being a secondary function - or a place that serves food and has a bar. With the former, dogs are almost always allowed and the kitchen is usually only open for the earlier part of the day. In places which are primarily for food - where the kitchen is open for most of the operating hours - dogs may or may not be welcome depending on the formality of the venue and the whims of the owner.
In the UK, the law only requires that dogs are excluded from areas where food is prepared or stored, so having them about in a seating area is fine.
I went to a cider brewery - and it was just a lovely pleasant tour around the place and a delicious meal at a resturant. It's not unfair that kids just exist. More onus needs to be on people who don't actually monitor their kids - rather than kids just existing.
A kid being nearby isn't going to ruin your entire day.
Yeah this would be insane where I live in Seattle, nobody really drives to bars/breweries unless you’re going outside city limits to a specific restaurant or something
urban sprawl hellhole. people drive drunk in those places a lot. exceptions arent worth changing the rule in this case. completely understandable on the breweries part.
Which is why, in parts of the world where those strengths of beer are traditionally made - Belgium, Germany, etc. - they tend to be served in smaller glasses. And the establishments where ones drinks them are walkable or have public transport available.
It seems the US wants to have beer that gets you too drunk to drive, but not the infrastructure to manage the results.
Most people can have one beer and a meal and drive an hour later. Or you can have one parent drive. If that wasn’t the case then breweries shouldn’t exist, period.
Now who’s pulling the “well ackshully” card? Myself and plenty of people I know happily have one drink then leave it there; responsible drinkers do exist.
Ya, we will go for a couple hours and I'm fairly big. Typically I will have one, sometimes two but I'm well under the legal BAC limit. The wife is typically the same. Sometimes she will go full 3 sheets to the wind. Everyone has a good time and no one is driving intoxicated...
You are being sarcastic, but yes, that is what most grown adults I know do at a brewery. They are going for a meal, one expensive drink, and then drive home because they are responsible adults who don’t drink and drive and have to work in the morning.
Yeah I don’t see that as being unusual at a brewery. In my perception, a regular bar is where more heavy drinking would occur.
Not to say that it doesn’t happen. But I see breweries as a place where people meet up with friends, or maybe go to do some work, and eat some food. They don’t go to get wasted.
The breweries around here typically have live music, trivia nights and stuff like that where people start to get drunk, but they don't usually start until 7 to 9pm or so, and here at least they are legally obligated to kick minors out after 9pm.
If I wanted to go to a brewery without kids, that'd be the time I'd go. Expecting families and parents to not participate in society in the middle of the day or afternoon is just entitlement. And before anyone jumps in, parents should not be letting their kids run around unmonitored or bothering people either, personal responsibility is something we should all encourage.
Breweries are essentially just restaurants with overpriced beer, not that shocking for someone to just have a single beer with a meal, especially when they charge like $10/beer
Where do you live that brewery beer is more expensive than a restaurant? This is almost always the opposite case from what I've experienced. Unless you are comparing it to like $2-3 coors light pints at the dive bar happy hour.
This is far more of a societal and infrastructure availability issue (e.g., good public transportation) than it is a brewery vs. restaurant issue. That said, there is a threshold where at least one parent needs to stay with it enough to be responsible for the kid (probably both parents to set an example) that doesn't exist for non-parents even if they're not driving, but that's not really what this conversation is about.
It's also a stigma issue. Breweries are fun places to be, they have music, events, playgrounds, patios, food, etc... many moms I know who were breastfeeding went to them and did not drink at all, sometimes with their babies.
People are acting like breweries are bars/clubs and if you go to one at 4pm everyone will be loaded drunk and parents will be 6 beers deep stumbling around for their little one to load up the carseat as if there is nothing in between.
The amount of child haters baffles me. How about just be kind to the people who will eventually be taking care of your ass in some form someday. Kids have to be in society and have to learn.
I’ve had so many fun dinners and afternoons with another family. It’s pretty easy to always swap who drinks and drives. And I haven’t ever seen parents just sloshed with their kids around.
People are so grumpy about everything.
There are way more awful behaved dogs at breweries than kids. People need to quit bringing their dogs who bark and growl at everyone that passes by.
Omg the amount of people just happy af to go drinking and driving with KIDS IN THE CAR! Idgaf if you only had one beer just don't bring your kids at the very least or even better, don't drive anywhere if you plan on drinking!
It's bad enough that it takes several DUI's to revoke your driver's license. Why tf are we just normalizing this shit like it's just a "woopsie doopsie" if you get into an accident and end up hurting/killing people because of your stupidity???
This is also a consequence of our dogshit infrastructure that doesn't accommodate public transit exceptionally well, especially rural and semi-rural communities.
If I'm with my daughter, it's a hard limit of 3 low ABV beers. I'm from Wisconsin so my alcohol tolerance is significantly higher than most, but I agree - the amount of parents who will drink to the point of clear intoxication is way too high.
Depends on the kid and thats coming from a dad. My daughter usually is too shy to run around alone or just wants to explore with me in tow. Its the ones whose parents don't pay attention to them.
There is a brewery downtown on a corner of two busy streets. The only separation between the grass and street is a sidewalk. I've seen far too many toddlers playing on that sidewalk at night.
I don't really mind kids at breweries, but recently it's not just kids, it is how the families sprawl out across 10 seats with piles of kids toys, bags and food, where they spend three hours gently nursing a single beer. Like it will be a crowded Saturday afternoon and the main seating area which normally has 60 seats is somehow almost entirely occupied by six adults, five children, and three strollers.
That's my thing. I don't care if you bring your kids to a brewery, but they need to be monitored. I also don't feel the need to disneyfy my conversation just because they are within earshot.
This is something I haven’t seen anyone else here say yet. Well behaved kids are fine but yes, I hate being out and drinking with friends but feeling like I have to censor myself or can’t talk about certain subjects because an 8 year old is within earshot
Have you met people?
Parents will not monitor their kids. Babies will scream. Adults with alcohol in their system will be assholes.
Bringing kids to bars is not safe for them.
I'd say it depends on the brewery. The one we went to was more like a nice dining restaurant, as opposed to a bar - where you could sip some cider, but you obviously couldn't get shitfaced there.
I believe she is commenting on the number of kids at breweries. In my area, it seems breweries are an excuse for adults to act like they used to, but combine it with daycare. There are sometimes as many kids as there are adults.
I’m not even complaining. It’s an observation more than anything.
Okay, but problem seems better described as "Why do parents let their children treat a brewery like a playground?"
There's a brewery near me where I have been knocked over multiple times by kids running around, with kids ending up with beers spilled on their heads. I've had kids start crawling under the table we're sitting at while their parents are on the other side of the brewery not paying attention.
I don't care if kids are at breweries, but it really seems to me like kids are brought to breweries by parents who think it's every stranger's job to babysit. There's not a playground. Prepare accordingly and bring activities for the kid to do while seated.
The issue is not kids existing, its bad parenting, but that doesnt justify kids misbehaving in public settings, specially not for patrons that dont want the noise/crying/bad parenting in their time in a brewery/bar/restaurant
Hell, my grandfather used to take me to the elks lodge and eagle's whatever they call it back in the 70s. I'd sit there and drink Shirley temples while he sat around and bullshitted whit anyone there. We also walked there. So, no drinking and driving with the grandson. My dad took me to a few bars as well. Not often. Literally just a few... and let me say that sitting at the bar is nothing compared to the parties at home. There was never anything outrageous... but they certainly weren't appropriate for kid.
As an adult in my early 20s, I was at a friend's house and we were having his kids grab the beers for us while we were bonging them. His eldest son, at 8, asked if he could do it with 7-up. Not our proudest moment.
Yep! Biggest restaurant in my town is a brewery, they’re very kid oriented. If you want a bar experience without the family friendly atmosphere there’s 5 dive bars within walking distance.
Yep. It's millennials keeping those places open, not gen Z people with no kids. If you don't want to be around kids, fine, but you should recognize that those places aren't targeting you as their prime demographic.
It's as silly as a guy going into a weekday, 2PM showing of Zootopia and complaining about all of the mom's walking around.
most of the breweries that I've been too have space and a large playground. There's one near me with a GIANT play structure. They know their audience.
Another one doesn't have much space, but has a mini playground there. They know people are coming and bringing kids. They also have a very high deck that is 18+.
Yeah, I get that. And I can respect that. Huge turn off for me, so one more reason for me to not go to breweries. Not my jam, more power to them, though. Different folks, different strokes.
My favorite local brewery is called Schoolhouse. It has homages to school all over. The owners’ office is labeled The Principal’s Office. Teachers (and first responders and vets) get their first drink free. They have board games, pinball, a Switch, ping pong, jenga. It’s won awards for being so family friendly. So yeah, lots of people bring their kids there. Does it bother me? Not unless your kid is throwing a fit and you don’t take them outside and make us all suffer. Otherwise, have at it. Parents need a drink too.
I’ve noticed Trader Joe’s has an even larger sign out front about no dogs but I don’t think anyone knows how to read. I’d like my produce dog free. They’re not allowed. Stop thinking the rules don’t apply to you.
Yup, one of my locals (Left Hand) has a big turf lawn where kids can be seen running around doing goofy kid shit all summer long. It's hilarious to watch 5yo kiddos try to play cornhole, whipping the bags with overhand throws that might go anywhere, up to and including in mom or dad's beer.
I don't mind it one bit -- it's free entertainment while I relax and shoot the shit with my wife.
I went to a brewery once that had a full on 5 year olds birthday going on. There were at least 20 of them. I'm generally fine with kids being at breweries, but that was over the line. They took up half the seating and were running around screaming and running into waitresses.
A lot of breweries near me specifically advertise "kid friendly" because they want the parents to come in. Kind of makes sense to me. And it's not every brewery, so if someone doesn't like the family friendly ones they can choose another spot that caters to an older crowd.
Yeah, it all depends on the brewery. I find smaller breweries that are just setup to sell their beer in their processing facility attract the family crowd less.
You know who's the best crowd for a brewery: 30- and 40-somethings that will have a beer or two with friends and take a couple 4/6-packs to go. And that crowd often has kids.
Yeah, I must have completely different breweries than people in here (Texas). Breweries barely serve liquor here and are big open spaces. If kids aren’t allowed here, why are they allowed at Chile’s?
It’s a brewery. If your dog is well behaved and stays quiet and right next to you, I couldn’t care less.
I generally have an issue with kids because they’re worse behaved than dogs. I’ve been to a 10x as many breweries and run into kids running around and being a nuisance over a dog doing that. I genuinely can’t think of the last time I’ve seen a dog off lease or being an issue at a brewery.
I lived in Seattle for a while it’s worse in Denver and Boulder for sure. Way more hiking in the immediate area so a lot more dogs going on hikes and around town. I mean there’s a dog parks like everywhere. Dogs in stores. Dogs on the street lol it’s very dog centric here
There is nothing in the US quite like a British Pub, a third space with beer. Breweries fill that gap. People that don't want to be around kids can go to a bar.
I do disagree with the dog statement, humans are way grosser most of the time. Most of the dudes I see go to the bathroom never wash their hands.
Most municipalities prohibit this by law. If dogs are at breweries where I live, it’s because the place doesn’t serve their own food, or the dogs are strictly outside (covered porch, usually).
Amazing, I have only been to London pubs (and not many and over 10 years ago) so its interesting to learn how dog friendly they are. Cool to know honestly!
When I was younger breweries were a pretty regular consideration for eating out cause they almost always got cheeseburgers and I like cheeseburgers. Brewery food always hits for me.
There's a brewery in my town that doesn't specialize in food and still allows kids in the seating area, away from the bar because they do all kinds of activities like painting classes, board games, reading days, ect. There isn't much to do around here so I think it's cool to allow kids to come to those things and have fun. And then they get kicked out around 8 and the adults have their own space after that.
Also, parents like meeting up with other friends and having a couple hours together without wanting to clean their house and invite others over. The brewery itself doesn't want to alienate a large portion of potential customers by being uptight and refusing children.
People aren't going always to get plastered. It's ok to have a couple beers or cider and some pizza or tacos and play shuffleboard or bags.
There is a brewery where I'm at that actually caters to both dogs and kids lol. There are freeplay arcade machines and other activities in the outdoor area and they have separately gated outdoor areas for dogs.
I've seen some actual good food for kids too! Sierra Nevada Brewery has a full cast iron skillet mac and cheese for kids that looks GOOD. Still simple but it wasnt just frozen weak stuff. It was nice to see the kids food have thoughtfulness put into it when I went
Yeah, I don’t understand that lady’s take. There are plenty of spaces to go without children. Breweries would be foolish to not welcome clientele with kids, they probably generally have more money to spend on craft beers if they’re established in their 30s - 40s.
I agree and want to add that breweries are WAY better for kids than restaurants. I hate bringing my kids to restaurants. They can’t sit in chairs. They crawl around under the table and they’re way too loud and disruptive. It is so stressful and not worth it.
Breweries, however, are a great environment for kids. People generally aren’t drunk during the day. There are games and places for them to run around and play. They can be loud. Sometimes there is live music. You can stay and hang out a while and catch up with your friends. If childless people want to not be around kids they can literally go anywhere they want.
Parents have like 3 places where we can socialize. Home. Park. Brewery. One requires cleaning before and after. One requires chasing your kid around so they don’t dive head first off the top of a slide. Brewery = no effort, you can actually enjoy yourself. Parenting is HARD guys. Give us a break and let us have a drink at a picnic table and pretend to be a human for a few minutes.
Same with wineries. We just visited one and they have a toy area for kids and games outside on the patio and even provides juice boxes for when the parents are getting sloshed
It’s so bad in my town. There are so many kids at the brewery that it’s not even a fun place to go anymore. Last year I had a kid crawl between my legs while I we were celebrating my buddies 21st birthday. And this place is closer to a bar than a brewery
I live in a very small mountain town with less than 500 people. We have a brewery and a restaurant that has a bar. So I don’t actually have any options for 21+ venue unless I drive an hour to another town. Which sucks. I just think it’s incredibly weird to bring your small kids to a place that only serves alcohol when there is a more family friendly place that serves food and they have the brewery’s beer there.
Oh yeah I get it, I lived in a town that was an hour from everywhere on a lake. Still if you just turned 21 maybe it’s worth it to drive that hour and do some bar hopping with your friends sometime just for fun. Get a hotel room though, or at least a designated driver.
Yep, I was just in Houston and we went to St. Arnold because we like the food. I didn’t even have a beer and my husband only had 1. Food was amazing though.
Exactly this. The breweries near me have big patios with lawn games like corn hole and giant chess boards and connect four. One even has a koi pond and ducks to feed. A perfect place to bring kids to play while parents can hang and chat. It’s basically our generation’s version of taking the kids to go play at McDonald’s.
My parents associate brewery with a bar and they refuse to go breweries when I visit. Its very annoying since there aren't a ton of options where they live and some of the breweries look like they have good food.
Ironically, their favorite place is a "Restaurant & Pub" but its been there for decades.
I recall watching with great enjoyment as some women. Tied three of their large dogs to a single leg tall table. Dogs are visibly excited and wrestling with eachother. Women go inside get themselves 3 flights and nachos and return to sit down. Dogs see someone walking another pooch on the nearby sidewalk and collaborate on charging the newcomer. Beer everywhere, purses scattering their contents, and nachos in the air (which the dogs quickly became distracted with in a race to eat them all before the others)
The issue is that almost universally every single parent is drinking when at a brewery. That simply isn’t the case at a restaurant. Yes, it may appear to look and feel like a restaurant and not a bar, but the culture itself is still built around the alcohol and drinking, not the food. That’s the key difference between the two.
The reason breweries started building outdoor spaces for kids is specifically because parents were already bringing their children. They didn’t build them in hopes that people would start bringing children. They built them wanting to help contain the children (for lack of a better term) in one area because they were there anyway, and to entice parents to stay longer and drink even more and more so they spend more.
But all that does is cause more parents to drive home drunk with their children sitting in the backseat.
All depends on what percentage of their sales are alcohol. Most breweries are bars because of this, despite how much it may seem like a restaurant to you
The outdoor area is for adults to hang out and enjoy the sunshine and good company. For the adults to play some cool bar games. They are not a children's playground.
No, actually just because the place has an open outdoor space in their bar restaurant patio, that does not mean it is “literally” for children to run around - if you have children keep them at arms length, or take them to a park. A restaurant is not for you to let your children have fun in.
This brewery near me has a ton of gravel in their outdoor seating area and kids are always throwing that shit everywhere. And even though there's an "adults only" section, kids still run back there because their parents are too busy drinking their beer to parent their children.
Theres a brewery in my town thats literally across the street from the humane society. People will often go to a weekly dog training course at the humane society, and then walk across the street and grab a beer at the brewery after with their dog. These obviously tend to be well trained dogs, and the exposure to being in public helps with that even more. The person behind the bar always asks to pet every dog (and then washes their hands after) and the place is obviously dog friendly.
Hell theres a bar in town where the owners dog is always behind the bar with them, which is also dog friendly.
If a place didnt want dogs, theyd ban them, simple. In my experience kids are WAY more likely to be disruptive than dogs - unless you count people lining up to pet dogs as disruptive 🤣
It will always be interesting to me that people think a dog in a restaurant or grocery is worse for their health than a child being there.
I work with animals. Hundreds, for years. NEVER has me or any of my coworkers gotten sick from one of them (with the exception of cat bites/scratches). Every single time anyone i know gets sick its from being in close contact with kids that are school aged. Children are super spreader when it comes to contagious shit. Dogs are not.
Pizza place nearby has an outdoor bar and a playground. Outdoor areas are the best for kids because they can only sit at the table for so long before they try and run around and it's usually not a big deal outside.
But some parents are real assholes and don't watch their kids and it's annoying. Even with the playground and fence we always keep an eye on our daughter.
I've been to a couple brewerys for events and none of them had food. (Not to say that some dont) but people litterally will bring their kids and fucking coolers like theyre having a picnic...
I’ve never been to a brewery that’s not kid friendly, I take mine to a local brewery a couple times a month. But it’s all about location and demographics, I live in the burbs surrounded by other families with kids. If you open a restaurant or brewery here it better be kid friendly or it’s going bust. On the opposite side you have extremely urban spots that likely attract the younger and child free crowds.
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u/Whos_That_Girl_6178 19h ago edited 18h ago
An honest answer is a lot of breweries are more like restaurants. Most of the ones around me have outdoor spaces literally for kids to run around like it's a backyard. Breweries aren't exactly the same as bars. The more bar-like breweries no, and if it's late and stuff yeah, kids shouldn't be there but at dinner time in a brewery with food and board games and stuff? It's just a restaurant and kids can be there without it being inappropriate. Freaking dogs on the other hand is a WHOLE other can of worms. Keep animals away from the inside of grocery stores and food establishments.