Beer Explorer

In the debate of whether or not children should be welcomed in breweries, we have already offered our support on the side that says, “Yes! Children should be welcomed in breweries.” See that article here. Despite our strong belief that breweries should be a place for the whole family, and that will include a little child-induced chaos, there are some things parents can do that will be extremely helpful in making the brewery experience more enjoyable for everyone. Just because you want to take your kids to the brewery doesn’t mean they’re going to be happy there. And let’s be honest, if your kids are miserable, you will be miserable. These tips will allow you to maximize the brewery enjoyment for you, your kids, and everyone else at the brewery who will be around your kids.

Tip for Parents #1 – Do Your Homework: Bring What You Need

If you’re going to travel to the brewery with the fam, you need to first do a little research into the brewery you are going to in order to make sure you have what you need to keep your kids occupied and happy when they get there. This is one of the reasons Beer Explorer exists, to (over time) provide more of this information to parents on what they can expect from the top breweries across the country so they can prepare accordingly before they get there. Does the brewery have snacks for sale that you can give to your kids? Do they have games appropriate for the age of your kids? Are there low-top tables for your younger kids so they can sit safely next to you? Is there space for them to play independently outside or will you need to keep an extra close eye on them? These are things you should know ahead of time so that you can, if needed, bring your own games or snacks, and just psychologically prepare for the work it may take to keep a reign on them where you’re going.

Tip #2 – Do Your Homework: Plan the Right Time To Go

Also in the category of doing your homework, plan a time to take your kids to the brewery that will be conducive to a good time for you all. Have you checked the brewery’s website to see what events they may have on that day? Some breweries have specific family or kid-themed events that would be fun to have your family at, while at other times they may have more specifically adult-themed events that you’d be better to avoid taking the kids to.

Tip #2 – Monitor Your Kids

This may be obvious, but sometimes when the beer gets flowing parents forget that the brewery is not just one big playground. Unless you have a babysitter with you, you need to remain aware of where your kids are and make sure they are behaving appropriately and not disturbing others. Of course, parents can be greatly helped in this if the brewery itself has a space for kids to play or run around in. As we have shown elsewhere, many breweries across the country have, for instance, sandboxes, playground equipment, and grassy hills for kids to run around on. This, again, is why doing your homework is important.

In other words, although an actual leash is not necessary, you do need to keep a metaphorical leash on your kids depending on the brewery space. If there isn’t much space for them to move around, you need to tighten that leash, the goal being to keep them from disturbing others or getting into others’ space. I feel like I’m giving basic parenting advice, but we need to remember this if we want to keep breweries a fun place for the whole family. This includes keeping our kids’ noise under control. Finally on this point, clean up after your kids. If they make a huge mess of food or drink on the table or floor, clean up after them. Breweries are not usually staffed with tons of busboys who can clean up after you, so help them out by doing your part.

To sum up, if we want breweries to remain the family friendly places I believe they ought to be, parents need to do their homework and keep an eye on their kids. I would love to see more breweries around the country offer things designed for kids to occupy themselves with while the parents hang out, but if they don’t parents need to be prepared for that with a little bit of research from Beer Explorer 😊