I haven't written a lifestyle blog in a while, I believe the last one was this one from almost two years ago. Since we are still hard core summering at the moment, I thought it would be fun to blog about one of my favorite past times: Brewery-ing. Yes, I made it into a verb. The enjoyable act of going to the place that makes, sells and invites you to drink craft beers as a social past time. Call it a hobby, an obsession or simply where you can find me on a Saturday afternoon, but I love going to breweries and in particular, going with family and friends. I think it's a fun, relaxing, delicious and social way to spend the afternoon/early evening and my husband and I have made our way through many of the craft breweries in Atlanta, although I will have to admit they are popping up faster than we can visit them. This is a good problem to have, I am not complaining. Now, I'm pretty serious about breweries and craft beer, often seeking them out when I visit a new city/state, in addition to methodically ticking the Atlanta breweries off my list. I've been to big beautiful breweries in the most happening areas to the small shopping mall seemingly hole in the wall breweries; it doesn't matter, I'll visit them all. I love craft beers for various reasons, aside from the actual beer quality and nuance of how the breweries take care to make this or that batch, however, the main reason for my minor obsession is that craft breweries are the ultimate "shop local" experience and we all love supporting local and small businesses, right? Every state and even every city has its own representation of local craft beers; if you go into a grocery store from FL to CA, you will have access to beers from breweries that you have never heard of. When you visit the breweries, not only are you supporting a small local business, you can experience being in the presence of where the beer was made, the people behind the scenes, you are hanging out and drinking from the source. It's basically the beer equivalent to going to a concert. Even if you are not a craft beer fan, visiting a craft brewery is such a fun way to spend the afternoon and a special outlet to get to know the area. You are hanging out with the local people and there are often local food trucks or regional cuisine at the venue or if you are lucky, local bands playing in the background and/ or a fun calendar of events held at the brewery to bring the city together. Even in Atlanta, where there are craft breweries pretty much distributed all over the city, exploring these breweries gives you a great reason to visit the different neighborhoods and discover more of what this wonderful city has to offer. I'm positive this is also the case for any big city in any state; this logic can be applied anywhere. Breweries are essentially bars that encourage day drinking and most are geared towards having kids. Breweries are family friendly, yes, yes yes, . I've got your attention now, right?
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Finding an activity that the whole family likes is key, because I want everyone to enjoy spending quality time together (without it costing a fortune every time). When the kids were younger, my husband and I would take them to the playground (okay, we still happily do this), to the chaotic indoor bouncy places where you are questioning your sanity, to the zoo, to the whatever place geared towards kids and you realize that you are just their ride because would you really pick to spend your afternoon like this? Be honest. Well, I'm so excited that we are at the phase in our family life where we are truly doing things together and I am not taking the kids to places just as a form of entertainment for them. My question is, what's in it for me? Cause over the years, I've done my time. The answer to this is go to a family friendly brewery. Even though going to a brewery does seem a bit one sided, our kids are used to it by now and they actually ask to go to breweries as it's more exciting and less restrictive than just going to a normal restaurant. After exploring all of these breweries in Atlanta and beyond, we have learned that most breweries are extremely kid friendly. Sometimes we go just as our family and sometimes we join friends and their kids, this way we all have pals to hang out with; but the best thing about going to family friendly breweries is that the kids can be independent, can explore, hang out, play games and all in a fairly relaxed environment. After visiting various breweries, I like to call it "research", for what? Not sure, doesn't matter. There are a couple of key things that make a brewery particularly family friendly and that is: food and entertainment. Obviously, if you have or have been around kids, you know that they are always hungry, even if they have just eaten. So, if you need to convince the kids to go to a brewery with you, it's more compelling if you can provide them food at some point in between your pints of beer. Otherwise, it is a bit like you are asking them to go watch you drink beer for a couple of hours. We've been to breweries that range from providing an assortment of chips to having a full menu with table service; my preference is somewhere in the middle, a hearty menu but not necessarily with wait staff coming to your table (otherwise, it begins to feel too much like a traditional restaurant and I like to preserve that casual brewery vibe). Second, if there is something for them to do once they get to the brewery, this is absolutely key. My favorite is if the brewery has a nice outdoor space where the kids can play and have freedom to move around, perhaps there is space where they can kick around a soccer ball or the brewery has corn hole set up for the guests. Additionally, if the brewery is in a pedestrian friendly neighborhood where the kids can go off and get ice cream or explore a bit, than that's great as well (this last option is for older and more independent kids, of course). If there is not an outdoor space accessible, then if there are games ( board, video and/or sporting match via big screen) provided, that definitely works as well. Often times when we go to breweries, I still have my Notebooks & Honey tote bag packed with goodies for them to do, ranging from card or small board games, art supplies or books. It often looks like I'm in it for the long haul and when you are day drinking with friends, sometimes that's the case, so it is always good to be prepared and just because you are brewering-ing, you don't stop mommy-ing.
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One of the things I've noticed after visiting so many different breweries is that a lot of them have really made a valiant effort in distinguishing themselves from each other and that can be through the types of beers they specialize in and branding / overall brewery space. Both really do help give the brewery personality and the va va vroom to set them apart from the pack. Since I love beer and design, I'm just so tickled when I find a new cool brewery to explore and especially when all of my criteria come together perfectly ... brand cleverness, attention to interior design, food and beer menu, atmospheric appeal and all under the umbrella of being family friendly. Below are some of the Atlanta kid friendly breweries that I frequently visit. There are a lot more that I have been to, some I have enjoyed but do not find them that interesting to comment on or perhaps did not find them that family friendly, so I left those out. There are breweries that are on my ever growing "need to research" list and I hope to visit them in the near future and plan on updating you this time next year with another Atlanta family friendly brewery round up. Until then, hope you find the below list help and perhaps I'll see you with a pint in hand at some point. Enjoy!
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(NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER):
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Biggerstaff: Neighborhood-wise, this is in a very cool area with many great restaurants, coffeeshops, bars all around. Not to mention, the Eastside Beltline is down the road. They do coffee by morning and beer later in the day, which is a great way to utilize the space and build a solid customer base. There is an outdoor seating area in the front that may not be a the most exciting, but is great for people watching and getting a vibe for the neighborhood. They have a full menu and board games for entertainment.
Biggerstaff Brewing Company
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Monday Night Brewery (Garage): The is a great location in an ever growing hip area, right off the Westside Beltline and in a designed community that incorporates a couple of other breweries, a soon to be food hall and other cool commercial endeavors. Not to mention, since it is right on the Atlanta Beltline, you can bike, skate walk here. I love both the inside and outside set up and they often have private events (e.g. a wedding reception in this super industry place). The kids can go outside and play if you are there to watch a game, you can enjoy it on their massive projector screen. After many attempts at pop up food vendors, they have a permanent pizza stand now and it's one of the best pizzas in town!
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Halfway Crooks: This is hands down the best in terms of interior and branding. I love their swag and color scheme and they have a new beer garden that is just to die for. They have a full menu, although I find it a bit expensive, so don't go there too hungry. It's in the revived Summerhill area, amongst shops and some awesome trendy new restaurants. I love that they have a cycling team which they seem to sponsor (the cycling outfits are cool beans) and did I mention that their specialty is Czech beer?
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Scofflaw: I have been to the original location, but the location that I really like is the one at The Works. It has a great outdoor space where everyone walks around and you have so much to do there, you can eat at Chattahoochee Food Works and there is even a small space right outside of Scofflaw to kick around a soccer ball or lounge in the sun; I think it is technically communal space, but since it's directly outside of Scofflaw's brewery location, I'm just going to say it belongs to them. The kids love it because they can explore the surrounding space, get food, go find ice cream, etc. Also, this place is so buzzing with life that even they enjoy people watching.
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Brewdog: Right on the Beltline, this International chain has a surprisingly local vibe to it. The interior is cool and they have a larger than normal selection of non-alcoholic beers. There is a full menu and the food and beer are more on the expensive side compared to a lot of there counterparts, but the space has a lot of personality and the kids love the (free) old school arcade games there. Even though they do not have a green space, the Westside Beltline is right outside it's door and there is a lot on this block of the trail to explore with Krog Street Market and the various retail and commercial options surrounding.
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Round Trip Brewing Co.: This brewery is where I first fell in love with the idea of taking the family to breweries, thus it has a special place in our heart. We go to this place for all of our major soccer watching, they special in German style beers (which we love), they are super kid friendly and even have a small playground and nice outdoor space (although it's essentially in a parking lot, but they did a good job of making the most out of it ). They don't serve food, but they try to have consistent pop up food vendors and you are allowed to bring in your own grub, which we have done on many occasions. Other than showing games, they have a rotation of speed puzzle nights, comedy nights, trivia nights, etc.
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Bold Monk Brewing Co: I think this brewery is the most like a restaurant, so great if your kids are super hungry and you want to trick them into going to a restaurant. The brewery seating itself is huge, but my preference is the more quaint beer garden out back. We don't come to this brewery that often because it's a bit lacking in the "entertainment" value, but the menu is solid if you want a place that is more food focused.
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Tucker Brewing: This place is a bit out of the way in a very random industrial location, but once you get there, you will enjoy their large and very nice beer garden. The inside is a bit small, so just make a bee line for the outdoors, the kids love how spacious the place is and they have been known to bring a soccer ball there too to kick around. This brewery also specializes in German style beers and they also have a very delicious full menu.
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Inner Voice: This is a smaller brewery that we tried recently, love their interior and branding. They are the home to Glide pizza which you can buy by the slice, delicious and pairs super well with their beers. Although the brewery is not big and there is hardly any outdoor space, it's very neighborhood-y and charming. The location is great as it's in the downtown Decatur Square area, so if you have bigger kids that are independent, they can go walk to get ice cream or look around the shops.
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Gate City Brewing: This brewery is a bit out of town, but in the heart of the busy Downtown Roswell District, so very much a meeting place for the locals and their dogs! Although it's a track for us to just go to this brewery, we always pair it with a hike (hike + brew). There are plenty of hiking trails in Roswell and with Gate City being one of the bigger breweries in the area, it is definitely our go to destination after a long hike. They do not have a menu, but they do pop up food vendors occasionally.
