Denver breweries may have to turn away some of their friendliest customers now that city inspectors have begun to crack down on allowing dogs in breweries throughout the metro area.

An incident this week at Prost Brewing Company sparked confusion for Denver brewers when city inspectors said the brewery was in violation of a city law stating dogs cannot be in an establishment that serves food.

“They told us we can’t have dogs inside at all, and if we’re going to have them on the patio, then we can’t serve out there,” Prost co-owner Troy Johnston said. “We’ve been doing it for 3½ years, and then all of a sudden, somebody comes through the door and now it’s wrong.”

The confusion comes mostly from how the health department is classifying beer. Regulators consider it food, which some argue would make breweries into restaurants.

“We don’t produce food and we don’t have a restaurant. Since we’re a brewery, we only have a manufacturing license. So to that point, none of this should apply to us,” Johnston said.

Unlike other cities who adhere to state rules, Denver maintains its own city health code, which specifies that “live animals shall be excluded from within the retail food establishment, including all interior and exterior dining areas,” with the exception of patios when the proper criteria are met.

And while brewers make the argument that breweries aren’t retail food establishments, city regulations define “food” as anything that is a “raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part of human consumption,” which classifies beverages, including beer, as food.

Still, brewery owners are left to wonder where the sudden crackdown came from. Danica Lee, director of public health inspections for the city health department, said it’s largely due to re-establishing regular inspections after a shortage in staffing meant cutting back inspecting certain businesses, including breweries, in past years.

“While the department has only inspected breweries and taprooms on a complaint basis since 2012, resuming routine inspections of these facilities involves a lot of education and technical assistance about the requirements,” Lee said.

Even with regular inspections back in place, Lee said the city values brewery businesses as a part of Denver’s culture, and will be notifying businesses during the course of the inspections. They also recently reached out to the Colorado Brewers Guild to offer education and compliance assistance.

“Regarding fines, while violations are documented, fines only result from repeat ‘critical’ violations, so a fine cannot be assessed on the first violation,” Lee said.

Johnston said he and other brewery owners plan to “investigate and challenge” the violations with the Colorado Brewers Guild.

“We’re telling our customers about it, but our plan is to not sit idle on this one. We have a lot of folks who come into Prost because they can bring their dogs,” Johnston said. “We even provide treats and water for them. It’s always been that way.”

Natalie Munio: 303-954-1666, nmunio@denverpost.com or @nataliemunio