Controversial Beer Opinions Thread

Lol - dammit - can't avoid stepping on a grenade with this discussion

 

I think we're totally on the same page with this stuff. Unlike you I do have kids now (a two year old and another arriving in sept), but like you I felt exactly the same way prior to having any.

Also I'm Scottish - like you Bostonians we love swearing and consider it a fine art haha

Couple of random asides. My wife constantly berates me for swearing in front of our kid. Amazingly she said shit for the first time in front of him last week and he immediately repeated it, having never done so with me - was incredible!

Also I grew up in the rural Scottish pub my parents ran, so consider myself something of an expert when it comes to kids in bars haha

 

@rozzom responded and you agreed, but it's up to the establishment to decide if their environment is kid friendly or not. If we don't like their rules, we drink elsewhere. There are taprooms with kids menus.

 

Yes, I described it above as kid friendly. Those obviously are not what I am talking about. I have seen kids in totally un-kid friendly environments, no food, crowded, and adults drinking beer in an adult friendly envrionment.. Those folks thought that was appropriate for their children, I disagree. That is my controversial opinion, which I am sure, since having a large vocabulary is one of my only assets, I could continue to explain If I wasn't clear about this as yet. But hopefully it is clear now.

 

Again, unless you're going up to them and complaining, or stopping them from bringing their kids, it shouldn't be. If I say, "I prefer dogs to cats", even the most cat crazy person should shrug their shoulders and chalk it up to personal preference. What's the most that will happen to them? You might show small signs of discomfort, but fuck them if they can't accept others think different than them (obviously excluding things like racism, homophobia, misogyny).

 

I've come to accept kids in breweries, it's whatever at this point... as long as they aren't running around like complete maniacs it doesn't really bother me. However what does grind the hell out of my gears is this recent trend of parents throwing their kid's birthday party at a brewery. Seriously what the fuck is this about?

 

Haha! I had no idea that was a thing! Terrible, terrible idea...though my boys birthday is in August

 

Like what age kids? And is this a private event and/or in a sep event space at the brewery? Or out in the open during regular business hours?

 

I've seen both ways around here. Some brewery tap rooms are first come-first served seating, and I've seen 30-folks flood the joint at opening for a kids party. A couple places have separate event spaces for rent, and folks will rent those out. Strokes for folks and all that.

 

Pretty much what beertunes said. Typically kids around ages 5-10 I would guess. Not really a big deal when a brewery has a large outdoor space, such as a large field next door where the kids can run around and act like, you know, kids. Fine, whatever. But it drives me nuts when this happens in smaller indoor locations. My favorite local brewery - which pains me to say because the owner and staff are awesome people who take damn good care of us regulars, not to mention the beer is great - suffers from this on occasion; they have a large community table on the backside of the taproom, where you'll see families take over with balloons and cake and a gaggle of kids screaming and running around - you know, doing what kids normally would do at a birthday party.

For fucks sake, it's your kid's birthday; take them somewhere THEY would truly have fun at, instead of making your own best interests a top priority.

 

This gives me a great idea for my cousin's Bris!

 

Make sure the Rabbi has a couple Imperials beforehand.

 

Now whenever I see a FB post about a brewery closed for the night for a "private event" you have put the image of a kid's birthday party being held there in my head.

Big old Ronald McDonald cake with flights on the side.

 

What's the point of a family friendly taproom? So parents can afford to hammer down pints instead of getting a babysitter? Shame on the breweries for trying to make a beer bar "kid friendly" just to make an extra buck. Great, the kids and parents had fun, time to pile into the family van with drunk dad behind the wheel. Woohoo, family fun.

Ok, that was somewhat tongue in cheek, but there is something to be said for parents drinking and driving the kids home. You know there isn't a designated driver every time families visit these places. Just seems to be a reasonable social taboo traded in for a buck by what may be well-intentioned but misguided business owners.

 

I like dogs, cats and kids and prefer their company to most adults I've met. Wouldn't take 'em to a beer place though. Well, a Biergarten could work for the old dog because he would just go to sleep. Not for the others though, the cat would be bored and the three year old would look up from his screen and say something like, "I don't think we're getting a very strong signal here".

 

Well, in my city we have a pretty good trail system, and you can get around by bike or walking pretty easily. So, I see a lot of families at breweries as they're out for an after work or after dinner walk/ride getting the dogs/kids exercised. Despite my preference for no kids where I drink, I think that this is overall healthy and good. The canines and kiddos get socialazed, Mom and Dad get to unwind with a pint or three, and, mostly, no damage is done. Obviously, there are the obivlious pet/kid owners who let the wards run rampant, but honestly, they're the minority.

Obviously, YMMV.

 

I think this is a uniquely American viewpoint. That drinking is this adult-only activity that children should be shielded / kept separate from. Or that drinking alcohol must equate to "hammering down pints" and wanting to get drunk - that that's some sort of natural state/progression every time alcohol touches someones lips. And if you/others really do believe that and act that way, then it essentially becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

And what's with this assumption that parents bringing their kids to breweries always involves drunk driving? Keeps cropping up on here. What if the brewery is accessible via walking, biking or public transport? There are large collections of buildings called "cities" or "towns" where this is often possible. And where driving is necessary, why is it impossible to believe that one of the parents will be responsible and be the DD.

And are we to believe that all the people that drive to breweries who either don't have kids or do have kids but do the "right" thing of getting a babysitter - are they all upstanding citizens that make sure they have a DD in tow? Whereas it's just these maniac parents that drive drunk? Don't get me wrong - driving your kids around drunk is obviously an extra shade of wrong. But if you're the person walking across the street, or the person on the bike, or the person/family in the other car when that drunk driver hits you - does it make much difference to you if there were kids in the drunk driver's car or not? "yeah mate i know I lost both legs, but to be fair the guy had done the right thing and gotten a babysitter so I'm not that pissed about it overall"

How about all of the above but replace breweries with restaurants. Because the latter tend to serve alcohol as well so I don't really see a reduced risk with families going out to restaurants instead, and people don't seem to have a problem with taking kids to restaurants. Or is a family going to a restaurant not ok either?

And this thing about a family friendly brewery trying to make a buck - what nonsense. I really try my best to empathize with all viewpoints in this discussion and understand things from other's points of view. If you scroll up I discussed specific examples with Cavedave and we got on the same page. But the family friendly brewery I mentioned - Suarez - go there if you ever get the chance. They're not remotely trying to make a buck. I just think they have an idea of what they want their brewery to be about, and they want to remain inclusive and open minded.

Some brewery taprooms are effectively the same as hard-drinking bars. People shouldn't take their kids there. Others are family-friendly by design. People should be allowed to take their kids there. Why can't these two variations/concepts co-exist? Why is it crazy for a family to want to hang out together? Brewery does not equal bar necessarily.

This whole discussion is mind-boggling

 

Word dawg.

 

I'm pretty sure I said that not all families have a DD for these situations. I assume some do, probably a slightly higher percentage than non parents.

Of course a drunk driver could hit anyone at any time. Someone could plow through the wall and hit me right now. Still, not drinking and driving myself would surely mitigate the risk.

As for kids being around alcohol, I could care less about that. They'll learn what booze is about and decide how to handle it in their own time. I just don't want to be around kids while I'm relaxing. People taking their kids to taprooms surely drink at home around the kids, so there's no avoiding that anyway. It's not an "american thing" to assume that everyone going to a bar is getting hammered. I don't assume that. However, I live in a smaller city with more bars than it should need, I doubt it's all responsible light drinkers out there.

As for taprooms trying to make a buck... big surprise, they are. Maybe Suarez has some great owners who just really like kids, but I'm gonna guess some of these places are doing it to bring in more customers (more money too)

I'm not in the business of arguing my personal beliefs when it comes to parenting. I could really care less about kids being around booze, how they're raised, etc. I just want to enjoy my beer in peace. People do what they want, so what I prefer hardly matters in the grand scheme anyway. Just hollering into the wind.

 

Got it. My point is there are places to go to drink and get away from kids. And there are places to go where you can enjoy a beer with your family. Both options existing is a good thing - go to the former if you don’t want to be around kids. I do it plenty. And no need for any more of the drunk driving BS (in general - not directed solely at you)