PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — Kids play with kids while parents look on, trying not to spill their beers. This is exactly what brewers Gary Winn and Seth Hanson envisioned when they teamed up to start Yoked Farmhouse & Brewery with Gary's mother, Phyllis Tiernan.
"Goats are super social," Winn said. "They love visitors. They love to play around. They're just hilarious."
Winn and Hanson have a combined 40 years in the brewing business but have "yoked" their lives, homes, and Port Orchard properties to Tiernan's.
"It's a way for community to come together, enjoy this beautiful place and meet people," Tiernan said. "And we just love being able to do that."
"When people first show up, they get a pint of beer or cider," Winn said. "And then we'll take them on about a 15 minute tour of the three properties that are joined together."
There are stops at the chicken coop, home to 20 hens and a feisty rooster. In the gardens people see colorful flowers and fruits used in Yoked beers. It's all part of the build-up to the baby goats encounter.
Visitors can her them bleating even before they crest the hill. That's when the excitement begins on both sides.
"Please hand feed them," Winn instructs guests. "Please pick them up."
Once a gate is opened, the baby goats come bounding out, eager to meet the children and to eat grain from their tiny hands.
"People fall in love with the goats instantly, " Hanson said. "They just love playing and frolicking with them."
"A lot of people want to buy the goats before they leave," Winn said. "Or steal them."
Winn's dry sense of humor is one of the other attractions of the tour.
"If anybody wants a goat on their back, I will drop that thing on your back," he announced.
Pigs are also getting some attention and they can be insistent when they sense there's food around.
After about 20 minutes Winn enlists the visiting kids to help round up the baby goats.
"Now run!" he yells.
The kids race through the gate. One stops to ask why they had to run.
"You don't," Winn said. "That was just fun for me."
Yoked Farmhouse & Brewery isn't holding anymore goat and beer events this season but their calendar is full of other events, like comedy shows and lessons on making jewelry.
The farmhouse is located at 525 S.W. Pine Rd, Port Orchard, WA 98367.
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