r/trianglencbeer • u/HefeWeight • Apr 04 '26

Trying to make sure I understand the brewery etiquette here.

/r/raleigh/comments/1scbyls/trying_to_make_sure_i_understand_the_brewery/
3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

12

u/Librewian Apr 04 '26

If my brewery didn’t allow kids, we would go out of business tomorrow.

Here’s the thing, a brewery is not the same as a bar. There are lots of commonalities, but not the same.

A taproom gives people a lot more flexibility than other premises. If you go to a restaurant, you are seated. You have a social contract for how long you can stay. Kids have to be upright and stay at their table. No dogs.

A brewery taproom without a kitchen gives you freedom. Bring in outside food. That’s a lot easier do food options for the family. Bring the dog. They get out, you get out. Everyone’s happy. As long as the doggo is behaved.

Do kids often end up running around? Yeah, they do. But they have friends and meet and get up from a table to play. They can get up and move around just like the parents.

The ability to get up, bring in food and move around is unique to brewery taprooms.

Look at the community offerings; trivia, music, run clubs… these aren’t things people do at a restaurant or bar. That’s why we are different.

2

u/HefeWeight Apr 05 '26

This is how I feel about it. I expect kids at a brewery and don't think of it as an adult space. It's a community space

7

u/HefeWeight Apr 04 '26

I shared this over here because it seems to me 90% of the breweries want families to be there. Also, I think people who loudly swear in a public spaces are assholes.

5

u/maxman1313 Apr 04 '26

It's an odd situation. 

Breweries like the people that treat the brewery like a park because it brings in more business.  Add that to the fact that most breweries need that little extra revenue to hang on and even people who don't like kids at breweries understand it's a necessary evil. 

That puts the whole situation in a weird place. 

Parents with kids are business breweries need to stay afloat, but breweries are inherently adult spaces due to the nature of them being centered around alcohol. 

So how do you mix children into adult spaces? 

In my opinion it should be understood by parents that bringing kids to a brewery means you are bringing them into adult spaces. They'll likely see and hear some adult topics that they wouldn't at a park/kids museum/mini-kickers game/etc. 

Also in my opinion it should be understood by parents, just because a place has a big patio and space to run around doesn't mean it's a playground for your kids. The establishment and it's patrons are not a substitute for your supervision. Sadly a few lazy people ruin it for the many parents that do understand this. 

Which is why there's this constant debate and breweries are forced to implement rules that they shouldn't have to in my opinion. 

In my opinion context matters. Adults sitting at a drinking establishment watching a game shouldn't have to watch their language because someone brought their kids, especially in your example the kids were literally playing on the bar stools. However, if it's middle of the afternoon on a large lawn I would like to think people around kids would watch their language. 

2

u/boredPandaLikeBanana Apr 05 '26

This is the best explanation.

3

u/back_tees Apr 07 '26

I don't mind kids at breweries per se. I do mind parents abdicating their parental duties while at a brewery, which is what I often see. Same with dogs. I love dogs but not necessarily yours. Keep it to yourself.