Laughing Monk Brewing

Laughing Monk's San Francisco taproom is inside its production brewery in Bayview. The brewery says it chose the neighborhood to be among artists, chefs and makers. New releases go on tap here first, so this is the place to try them before they reach anywhere else.

The name comes from the founder's love of Belgian and Trappist beer, and the list still travels: sours, Belgian styles, lagers and stouts rotate with the seasons. The brewery counts more than 300 different beers since 2016. Holy Ghost Pilsner, Have Mercy Hazy IPA and Sunday Best West Coast IPA are the flagships.

In late 2023 Bedrock Restaurant Group bought Laughing Monk and merged it with Faultline Brewing, as Lookout Santa Cruz reported. Faultline's Sunnyvale and Scotts Valley restaurants became Laughing Monk gastropubs. That's why laughingmonkbrewing.com now opens on a Sunnyvale page. The Bayview brewery on Egbert Avenue is the original, and it's still the one to visit.

The taproom pours beer, soft drinks and light snacks, with no kitchen. For a full meal, the Laughing Monk NOPA brewery and gastropub at 1785 Fulton Street has a plant-forward menu.

It's closed Mondays and opens at 4pm on weekdays. Bayview is about four miles from I-80, the farthest stop on the route, so plan it as the last stop of the day.