Breweries invite kids to join fun

Juan Fonseca and his 6-year-old daughter, Abigail, spend a Sunday afternoon at 3 Stars Brewing in Northwest Washington. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Marvin Joseph
Juan Fonseca and his 6-year-old daughter, Abigail, spend a Sunday afternoon at 3 Stars Brewing in Northwest Washington. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Marvin Joseph

This summer in Maryland, Baltimore's Union Craft Brewing saw an upswing in the number of unsupervised children running around its new, expanded beer garden and brewery.

Speaking up to parents and kids didn't seem to curb the behavior, so last month, the brewery took to social media to announce a new policy: Children would no longer be allowed in the taproom after 6 p.m.

This was an innocuous policy change -- "Adult Swim," as Union dubs it, previously began at 8 p.m., and children were still welcome from noon to 6 p.m. -- but the comment sections on the brewery's Facebook and Instagram pages quickly exploded. Parents fumed that they no longer felt wanted and would take their business elsewhere.

Beer lovers, who feared their local taproom was turning into a Chuck E. Cheese, crowed. The online name-calling, mixed with self-righteous attitudes, got ugly and personal.

"The way people were commenting back and forth, that disappointed us," says Union co-founder Adam Benesch. "We weren't trying to divide people."

But it did, and the controversy shows how breweries are walking a fine line between trying to welcome everyone, including parents with children, while not alienating kid-free drinkers.

The truth is, many breweries want families as customers. Julia Herz, the craft beer program coordinator for the Brewers Association, a national trade group, points out that 78 percent of adults now live within 10 miles of a brewery and that it makes sense for breweries to be welcoming to parents, because "kids will drive the decision" about which ones to visit.

"If my kids don't like it -- 'there's nothing to do,' 'it's not fun' -- that's important," she says. After taking her 10-year-old son, Cooper, on a fishing trip in Colorado, the two stopped at Verboten Brewing in Loveland. "Mama needed a beer," she jokes. "But he and I could play Jenga. That translates."

Whether a brewery enforces adults-only hours, there are simple things families can do to make the experience good for everyone, child-free beer fans included.

Not every brewery is built for kids, so it's worth making a preview visit without children to get the lay of the land. As Herz says, "If they don't want to have families, they're not going to tailor the experience to that. If you see toys and games, it sends a message that 'everyone is welcome here.'"

This is done in different ways: Visitors to Peabody Heights in Baltimore, for example, pass a room with a toybox and shelves of children's books before they ever see a tap handle.

At northwest Washington, D.C.'s 3 Stars, the Urban Farmhouse taproom was built with families in mind. Bathrooms have changing tables, and the bar is stocked with arcade games, cornhole sets, Jenga and coloring supplies.

"I am completely cool with kids being in taprooms," co-founder Dave Coleman says. "This is a community gathering space, and we encourage our local community to come here and hang out." Kid-friendly snacks are on the menu, and teen and preteen bands from the School of Rock play at events.

After Union Craft Brewing moved into the Union Collective space -- a former warehouse with multiple vendors, including a pizzeria, an ice cream factory and a climbing gym -- brewery employees began to notice an uptick in unsupervised children.

The kids climbed on and jumped off furniture, went behind the bar and ran around barefoot where there was a risk of broken glass. The staff was trained on how to address this unsafe behavior, Benesch says, but it sometimes turned into a confrontation with the parents.

At Denizens in Silver Spring, Md., co-founder Emily Bruno said they're happy to welcome all ages to their spacious beer garden until 8 p.m. on weekends. They host parents' meet-up groups, and the staff is usually fine with spill cleanups.

"I understand parents with kids and their desire to get out of the house and have a social life," Bruno said. Sometimes, she has to remind parents that their children aren't at a playground.

"Kids would be running around and we have servers walking through with trays of glasses. We have to ask parents to keep their kids close to their table. Most were cool with it," she says, though some "felt like their kids were being restricted."

SundayMonday Business on 10/21/2018

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