Yes, day drinking has become a normal thing at breweries. And we’re OK with that

The Charlotte Observer discovered day drinking this week. The story, which hit the interwebs yesterday and, presumably, will hit some doorsteps this weekend, appeared under the headline: “Beers at 1 p.m.? Charlotte breweries fuel a rise in day drinking.”

Beers at 1 p.m.?!? Who’d-a-thunk it? CharlotteFive has clearly been ahead of the curve on this story.

Full credit to the author: Like us, she already knew day drinking was a thing. From the story:

The level of acceptance – indeed, celebration – for drinking while the sun’s still up hadn’t occurred to me until my editor told me his adult daughter had taken him to a few Charlotte breweries on a weekend afternoon. “And it was crowded!” he said.

“Well, duh,” I thought. Until it hit me.

It wasn’t always thus.

True, it wasn’t always thus. But for young people — especially in a brewery-heavy city like Charlotte — day drinking has become a pretty normal thing, something that I just assumed everyone knew about. Something that doesn’t “raise eyebrows” — when done in moderation, of course.

Shoot, how many times have we written about places to drink outside in beautiful weather?

In the Observer article, there’s a reference to day drinking previously being reserved for things like St. Patrick’s Day, which implies starting the drinking early in an effort to be hammer-town by sundown.

But, at least in my observation, the day drinking that’s happening at breweries in Charlotte is not that at all.

Day brewery drinking isn’t about getting sloshed by 5 p.m. I’m too old for that shit, even at 28. It’s about enjoying nice weather, sitting outside with friends and drinking something tasty and fresh and local.

It’s a relaxed atmosphere and it’s family friendly — no shots, no chugging of beers (or at least not much). Most breweries close by 10 p.m., even on the weekends. They don’t want you there getting shwasted late into the night.

“I don’t drink like I did in college,” Alan, 31, told the Observer while feeding his 4-month-old son at a brewery. “We come to enjoy being outside.”

Even the cops get it.

“We don’t see breweries as being big party hangouts,” CMPD Sgt. Dave Sloan said. “Mostly, people go to taste-test beer.”

So there you have it. Day drinking at breweries isn’t just C5-approved (and endorsed): It’s newspaper-, parent- and cop-approved.

Is it 1 p.m. yet?

Photos: John D. Simmons/Charlotte Observer

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Yes, day drinking has become a normal thing at breweries. And we’re OK with that."