Brewery Rules

My guess is they’re only open Thurs-Sun starting at 4 on the weekdays.

The food thing is the most oddly strict thing, but I get the “not taking up space for food” concept if space is at a premium.

Semi-related:
I did have my first “Why are all these kids running around?” at a brewery this past weekend. I almost never have trouble with the few, generally well-behaved kids I’ve come across at breweries, but this was a little out of hand.

 

Probably when the term 'hipster' was invented. Hipsters rule! (Or at least they think they do. )

 

I'm OK with it, but ban doggies and don't disallow hipsters? Huh?

 

The "Commandments" just might be a jest with important information front and center.

 

Nah, once Paris Hilton let the paparazzi snap pics of her dog sticking out of her purse it instantly became the fashion accessory of choice for dummies everywhere. People very shortly after that started treating their dogs like their children. Fast forward a few years and you get where we are now.

 

if this was in California, #1 and #2 would be required by the ABC. It's clearly codified law. And California is one of the more 'open' states in terms of alcohol laws, so I'm sure this is the case in many if not most other states. Now, of course we've done beer shares and other fun things at other breweries, and that's because they know and trust the people doing these things and are taking a calculated risk.

The food consumed on premise laws vary quite widely by state so #7 could be by law or their own rule. #8 is related but seems a bit more their call. #10 could be a state law also - in some states, especially where food is prepared on-site, only service animals may legally be allowed on premise. #9 could be for liability but in California we have very strict accessibility laws, so that could be what's driving this one.

So, potentially the majority of these rules could be codified state alcohol law. I'll grant it's written up a bit harshly, and at many breweries they'd prefer to have their employees keep an eye out and offer a polite word to the customers if they see anything. #3, 4, 5, and 6 are almost certainly house policy, so that's on them.

 

What do you mean no parties? There are only 3 other people here.

 

I'd like to point out that rule #10 doesn't single out dogs; it says "pets". We just all know it's dog owners who are notorious for bringing their security blankets everywhere they go.

 

Yea, that might be the correct interpretation... but is that really a problem? Averaging 2 - 3 visits a week to breweries for years, and I have never seen that happen.

 

Got me... but it is against the law in many states. In MN it is dependent on the kind of license the establishment has.

CAVEAT: This is just what I think the law is here. I'm far from an expert on the over regulated (IMO) alcoholic beverage industry here.

 

I believe it’s illegal to ask for documentation but you can ask

1. Is the animal required because of a disability?

2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

However, must people don’t know what is allowed so they ask the wrong question or the person with their pet uses “it’s illegal to ask”. Then the person asking doesn’t know what allowed and what isn’t.

 

You're probably being tongue-in-cheek with this comment, but it's also representative of the way most dog owners are dismissive toward people who don't like dogs.

The truth is, not every likes dogs, and some people are quite allergic to them. While most dog owners think it's cute when their animal walks up to a stranger and rubs up against them without having been solicited to do so, someone who's allergic to dogs is going to consider the animal to be out of control. I'm one of those people, and my experience has been that almost no dogs in tap rooms are under control. That's why they shouldn't there. Dog owners need to understand and respect that some people don't want to interact with their animal.

 

If the dog is barking, bothering patrons, going to the bathroom, pulling its owner, letting kids pet the dog, it’s not a service dog no matter what your fake glitzy service dog vest says. I will throw you out.

It’s pure bullshit that if I ask you if your animal is a service animal all you need to do is say yes and I have to let it in. As soon as the dog does not act like a service dog, bye bye.



Enjoy

 

I agree. While I have dogs, we don't take them into stores or establishments often. I understand the appeal of being able to bring dogs with you, but I agree that not everyone wants to be required to interact or step around a dog just to enjoy some time at an establishment.

 

I think the rules make sense. What's the saying? A rule is a response to something that's already happened? (Horribly paraphrased) I'm surprised by #8 in that you have to accept the delivery outside. Maybe an unscrupulous person accepted delivery for an order that wasn't their own. I thought the family hours seemed short, but a reply about the times they're probably open cleared that up.

 

I don't think any of those four rules (1, 2, 4, or 10) are state law in Minnesota (not that it matters in this specific, apparently New Jersey-based instance).

1) Growlers can be sold for off-sale, but I see nothing in Minnesota law stating that they can't also be sold for on-sale. I'm assuming that taprooms themselves often wouldn't want people effectively using a growler for a pitcher at a discount to pint prices on a per ounce basis.

2) I see nothing in the law prohibiting outside alcohol specifically at taprooms, and certainly I've seen people share outside bottles at taprooms on many occasions, including with owners and employees. If that's a law, it would be a general law that applies to far more than just taprooms, but I don't know if such a general law exists. Can you legally go into the lobby of a bank (which presumably isn't licensed to serve alcohol) and start swigging from a can of Surly Furious in Minnesota (let's assume that you're not drunk, so drunk-in-public doesn't apply)? I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been able to find anything in a quick search. Taprooms can't sell any alcohol that's not brewed in-house.

4) I see nothing about children needing to be accompanied by adults at taprooms. As far as I know, a, say, teenage kid could hang out by himself at a taproom and not drink beer (perhaps eating any food served, drinking root beer, etc.) as if he were hanging out at a coffee shop, as long as the brewery allowed it.

10) Minnesota law permits pets in taprooms (beyond just service animals) as long as the taprooms don't serve food made in-house and if and only if local municipalities pass ordinances allowing it (which Minneapolis, for instance, has done).

One thing I've noticed about breweries is that they often assume the existence of some legal prohibitions that simply don't actually exist, perhaps having been spooked by the numerous burdensome restrictions that do exist. I've had arguments on these boards with ignorant brewery owners and employees who are convinced that, say, taprooms and brewpubs can only refill 64-ounce and 750-ml containers even though Minnesota law plainly states that they may refill "any container."

 

Beer is considered a food item in Minnesota making illegal for all breweries to allow dogs inside the establishment. Most illegally allow them inspite of this, and get away with this due to the state rarely enforcing the law.

 

My issue here would be what does "family friendly" mean for those without children? Is there a moratorium on swearing during these hours? Who decides what language (or other behavior) is acceptable (assuming volume and speaker's sobriety are not otherwise in question, and these are not actions/words that wouldn't get you kicked out/asked to stop outside this "family friendly" time? While I'm all for an environment that isn't unnecessarily rowdy or offensive, let's not fool ourselves into believing the purpose of a brewery is something other than selling alcohol.

 

That's not entirely accurate. While Minnesota regulatory agencies including the Department of Agriculture do generally consider beer to be food (and that is consistent with the definition of food encoded in state law), and thus taprooms to be food-serving establishments in which non-service-animal pets are not permitted, the Department of Agriculture is empowered by state law to issue reasonable variances to the broad rules, and it has chosen to issue variances when applied for to taprooms as minimal food-serving establishments in municipalities with ordinances that allow pets in taprooms, and that includes Minneapolis. Numerous taprooms in Minneapolis have applied for and received those variances and allow pets to enter with the full understanding and permission of the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota. So perhaps a better way to word it is that Minnesota law does generally prohibit pets in taprooms, but it also permits exceptions to that general rule, and many legitimate exceptions are made in practice. The bottom line is there are multiple taprooms in Minnesota in which non-service-animal pets are allowed to be present in a perfectly legal way.