Beer Explorer

What makes a brewery a kid-friendly, family-friendly place for the whole family? If you have children and also enjoy a good craft beer, you probably generally need to make it a family outing if you want to get out and explore the local brewery. If you have options of which brewery to take the family to, how do you pick the one that is the most family-friendly, that will give not only you but your family the best time? Regardless of the venue, you can be helped by these tips we have explored already to make the most of your brewery exploration. However, if you have more than one solid option, here are some things to consider to help you find an especially kid and family-friendly brewery.

Hospitable Culture

The first thing you want in a brewery you’re going to take your family and kids to is a culture of hospitality that welcomes children. This is the hardest one to ascertain beforehand, but it can make all the difference in making you, as the parent, feel comfortable being there. If you’re getting glares from patrons and staff you’re not going to have the relaxing time you want to have. Even taking into account the things that you, as a parent, should be doing to manage your kids, a brewery culture that is more adult-focused than family-focused can make your time as a family just more anxious and less fun. Yes, you need to manage your kids, but if the culture makes one ready to pounce on every single step out of line then that’s gonna be a literal buzz kill. So, find a brewery that is hospitable and welcomes you and your kids.

Open space for kids to be kids

The next thing you want to look for when conducting the family brewery tour, is a brewery that has an open space for kids to be kids. Ideally, this includes things specifically designed for kids to play on or with so they can have fun while you drink and socialize. In Minnesota, we have a particular dearth of this sort of thing. However, we have family in Virginia where many breweries have large sandboxes for kids, playground equipment for them to play on, or just open hills or fields for them to run and play around on. When breweries have this sort of kid-friendly play areas, it’s a win-win for everyone involved. The kids have more fun, the parents have more fun getting to socialize and keep an eye on their kids form a distance, other patrons have more fun because the kids are occupied away from them, and the brewery has more fun because the kids aren’t bothering the guests or tearing up the place. So, I guess it’s a win-win-win-win situation. Although not every brewery will have the types of things for kids mentioned above, you can find ones that have a little more space for kids to move around, which will still help. See our tips, here.

Food and drink for kids

The third thing you’ll want in a family-friendly brewery are food and drink available for kids, or for those who maybe don’t drink alcohol. Almost every brewery will either have food served in the taproom or through a food truck outside. And more and more, many will have non-alcoholic drink options. You’re obviously going to want this in a brewery you take your kids to, because it’s inevitable that soon after getting there they will be complaining of being “starving”. While preparation ahead of time can help you in this regard if you want to bring your own food and drink, it’s still a sign of a family-friendly brewery to have its own supply of snacks and drinks that the whole family, kids included, can enjoy.

Seating that is conducive for kids

Finally, when looking for the best family-friendly brewery to visit with your family, you’re going to want to find one that has seating your kids can safely sit at. This obviously depends on the age of your kids, but if you have younger kids you’re going to want there to be low-top tables. If you have even younger children, you’re going to want highchairs or low-top tables that you can attach your own portable highchair to. Nothing would be worse than trying to enjoy your beer in one hand while holding your child in the other the whole time. You also don’t want your kids falling and getting hurt from those high-top tables. Doing some research ahead of time will help you here, but it’s something to look for.

We hope these tips will help you as you spend time with family while exploring local breweries. Happy beer exploring!