Looking for kid friendly breweries in Austin?
Austin’s known for its breweries these days. From old school favorites Live Oak to up-and-comers Hi Sign to sour savants Blue Owl or world renowned Jester King, your taste buds are fully covered.
And, while a lot of breweries are family friendly out of the gate, we’ll take a keen eye to just how kid friendly Austin’s breweries are and provide you with a rundown on why!
Crack open that brew, take a whiff and sip on our guide to family friendly breweries in Austin.
What makes a brewery kid friendly?
- Play area - a play area means mom, dad, guardian can enjoy their time a bit more knowing the kid(s) are rambling in one area and not all over the place or in a parking lot
- Changing tables - nothing is more annoying than not having changing tables and doing the dirty deed on the ground or somewhere else uncomfortable. Actually, no changing table in a men's bathroom is more annoying (step it up, folks!)
- Food - as those with kids know, they don't have the longest attention spans and nothing, usually, satiates their omnivorous attention appetites like food! Note, we're not distinguishing between regular and kids menu
- Beer - in this highly scientific system...beer scoring is weighted the least. Not that it's not important - we're talking breweries here - but the beer doesn't make the place kid friendly. And, for the most part, all breweries included have great beer. If it's a brewery that specializes in one type of beer, we'll call it out
BEST KID FRIENDLY BREWERIES IN AUSTIN
Jester King
Good
- Massive plot with a giant open field “out back” for kids to run around and play
- Food is kid friendly from the start – pizza!
- Plenty of seating, both covered and not
- Farm tour, goats included!
Not so good
- Gets crowded especially on Saturdays. Not the end of the world, but another thing to manage, especially if you forgot food and need to wait in that giant line!
- No changing table in men’s bathroom, which is a converted air stream…Update: hadn’t visited in awhile and the bathroom next to the walk up bar might have one
Overall
The best brewery in Austin, easily. You, your kid, your grandma, your dog, your yoga instructor…you all need to visit Jester King. It’s a bit of a drive, so time it with naps as needed, but worth it. The grounds are beautiful, play areas are plentiful and safe, food is family friendly, the beer is bliss, their philosophy around how and why they create is clairvoyant and…goats. Jester King is something Austinites can be proud of!
Ah, Jester King! Austin’s crown jewel of a brewery. Yes, that’s right – it is the brewery in Austin. It’s been recognized by the James Beard foundation, was voted the #4 best small brewery in the world by Craft Beer & Brewing magazine and it now has goats to go along with it’s burgeoning G.O.A.T status #dadjoke (this all sounds a bit too competitive, but what I’m saying is, this place is @#^#$& great and people have noticed).
Jester started in 2010, is actually located just outside of the city proper in the Hill Country/Dripping Springs, brews authentic farmhouse ales and is “committed to spontaneous fermentation.”
Our beers incorporate well water, local grains, hops aged in our barn, local fruits and vegetables, foraged plants, native yeast and bacteria so as to make beer uniquely tied to time, place, and people.
Now if that doesn’t get mom and/or dad’s tastes buds going then the goats will definitely appease the kids.
The brewery is located on 165 acres of land with giant oak trees dappled around the brewery which helps block the sun during those summer visits. There’s a building just down the hill that provides covered seating, is where you can order from a menu of appetizers, pretzel knots to charcuterie boards, and pizza. Kid friendly food is covered here!
From the covered seating you overlook a giant open field, with sand pits just in front of it for kids to roll around in…, that’s perfect for letting the kids roam, run and tire themselves out.
A path, it’s a half mile loop, borders one edge of this massive open field which leads you to the farm tour and…the goats! Bring the kids, bring a beer, enjoy the tour, pet a goat. Goat ahead and do it!
Live Oak
Good
- Large outdoor seating area, with lots of Live Oaks for shade, doubles as a play area for the kids to run around. Solid
- Food truck
- Beer – perfect for the summer, they’re not heavy IPAs
Not so good
- Hmm, might need to nitpick…it’s a bit of a drive especially if you’re not already on that part of town
- Food trailer is good, but not great. See, I had to nitpick!
Overall
- Tough call for us between Jester and Live Oak. Live Oak is fantastic overall from the beer itself, which is perfect for the summer, to the large grounds and the fairly spacious interior
Live Oak – the OG brewery of Austin (I see you, Real Ale, but since you’re not in Austin, Live Oak it is!). This place checks all the boxes for being kid and family friendly:
- Play area – the grounds themselves are open, but not close to parking or big moving steel items, and perfect for letting the kids run around
- Changing tables – check! And in both men and women’s bathrooms. Clean too
- Food – food trailer to serve your culinary needs. It’s not a food trailer folks rave about, but it’s still good
- Beer – seems as though other, newer spots get the limelight, but I think Live Oak has some of the best beers in Austin. From the Hef to the Berliner Weisse they always hit the spot – especially when it’s cookin’ outside and hot as Hades. They’re simple, clean and consistent
On the “play area,” for a city specific brewery – some of the Hill Country breweries have bigger/better spaces, but they’re farther out – Live Oak is the best. The grounds do not have a specific play area, but that would be overkill, I think. The outdoor seating area is shaded by, you guessed it, massive Live Oaks, with the area up and over the hill shaded as well, though it contains fewer benches. There’s also a disc golf course that would likely be great for the older kids out there, both adult and older kid aged, but we’ve not yet partaken since our kiddo is too small for now.
Draughthouse
Draughthouse review on the way!
I will say, this is my favorite brewery of them all. Others might have a bigger space or shinier exteriors or better food, but pound-for-pound, this is it for me. It’s one of the originals, very laid back, no frills, unpretentious, in the middle of a neighborhood (complete sucker for that) and has a massive beer list.
It’s kid friendly score bumped up once they moved from the traditional parking lot (ha) to shutting that down, putting tables in and essentially creating a nice perimeter to keep the little hooligans roped in. There isn’t a specific play area, which is a ding, but if your kids are a bit older and can sit still, then there’s nothing wrong with popping into the Draughthouse with them.
Meanwhile Brewing Company
Good
- Playground – ding, ding, ding we’ve a winner. Large playground located smack in the middle of the brewery so it’s essentially fenced in
- Soccer field – small soccer field on the premises which allows the kids another spot to run around and maybe take a penalty or two
- Music – consistent shows lined up, generally targeted at the grown up crowd, but our kid has enjoyed the sliver of the starts of shows we’ve been there for (before heading home to go to bed)
Oddwood Brewing
Good
- Video games – there’s an entire room dedicated to video games! From old school arcades (NBA Jam) to a Sega Saturn to a Nintendo Switch, you’re covered!
- Play area – not open as of Sept 2, 2022, but very close, so stay tuned
Overall, a newer kid on the block. Located at the corner of Airport and Manor, this bad boy has been a long time coming for that part of town. I think they just might have the best beer in town and it’s truly kid friendly. There are free video games – from Sega Dreamcast (yes!) to old school arcades like Hang-On – pizza, wine for the non-beer drinkers, indoor and outdoor seating (though the outdoor seating sits shoulder to shoulder with the parking lot), and loads of families on Fridays and Saturdays (allies everywhere you look).
Note, too, they’re in the process of building a new patio area out back that will have some sort of structure for kids to climb on. Had a sneak preview recently and it looks great!