You may think that beers and babies don't go together. I certainly felt weird taking mine into a brewery. But breweries are becoming more family oriented. This weekend we visited Benchtop Brewing Company in the Chelsea section of Norfolk.
When we first got there, we pulled around the corner and saw several families sitting outside. We also saw a food truck. Both good signs. The food trucks rotate regularly, but we tried Hangry. I had never heard of them before, but we got the tacos. Two vegetarian selections, a veggie chorizo and a sweet potato black bean and kale. While I say all hail kale, Neil isn't sold. The sweet potato was for sure my favorite, but Neil liked the chorizo best.
Inside they have a wide selection of beers. We saw people with strollers, school aged kids, and toddlers like R. You can look through the window and see the brewing process. Towards the back is a lego table, large wooden blocks, connect four, and lots of card and board games. There is also a bookshelf loaded with different kinds of books in the front. The employees are friendly, and the atmosphere was laid back. It was noisy, so an outcry from an excited or fussy kid wouldn't draw all of the attention. R really liked the lego table, and he enjoyed running through the block towers and yelling "WOW" while he knocked them down. We got to talking to another family who shared their magnetic toys when R went for the car. I'm thinking I need to get him a shirt with a disclaimer: Warning, steals anything resembling a truck.
I'm not a huge beer fan. I much prefer cider. I'll try though. Neil likes trying different beers, and we both love supporting local businesses. A special thanks to my friend Patricia for telling us about this place. It's awesome when you find a spot where there is something for everyone.
