SAN FRANCISCO (April 22, 2016) – Laughing Monk Brewing, a local small batch craft brewery, will hold a Grand Opening for their tasting room on Saturday, April 23. The tasting room, which has been in development since 2015, will fill 1,000 square feet in up-and-coming UrbanPointSF, which has become a Bayview haven for local artisan businesses searching for dwindling PDR space within San Francisco’s city limits.
“We’re very excited to be celebrating our opening and putting together this event with the support of several of our fellow creators,” said Andrew Casteel, founder of Laughing Monk. “We see ourselves as a local brewery, and have always set out to provide a neighborhood destination for our customers to enjoy our quality, local brews. Our tasting room represents the next step in realizing this goal, so we’re excited to celebrate our opening with the community.”
Laughing Monk, a collaboration between founder Andrew Casteel and head brewer Jeff Moakler, describes its signature style as a Belgium-California hybrid, drawing on local flavors and seasonal ingredients, as well as the influence of the long-standing Belgian brewing tradition. Their brews can be found at several bars throughout San Francisco, including Smokestack and Fly Bar. At Saturday’s opening, guests can choose from nine brews on tap, including three new releases: a dry-hopped American Blonde, a Belgian Tripel, and an Extra Pale Ale. For eats, Azalina’s, the Malaysian food purveyor in the Twitter building (and whose commercial kitchen at UrbanPointSF neighbor’s Laughing Monk’s tasting room) will be on hand for bar bites. The Devil’s Gulch Ranch will also be serving up their specialty roasted pig. DJ Jack Frost will be on deck providing musical ambiance for the festivities.
Laughing Monk is one of several local artisan businesses that share space within UrbanPointSF, a 28,000 square foot facility of PDR spaces home to Azalina’s Malaysian Kitchen, Artis Coffee, and Seven Stills Distillery in addition to Laughing Monk. Currently fully leased out, an expansion to UrbanPointSF is in the works, which will include the development of eight more industrial creative spaces, each with 3,500 square feet.
“UrbanPointSF has experienced tremendous success with our vibrant community of entrepreneurial tenants, all of whom have grown and thrived in their customized spaces,” said Seamus Naughten, managing director of Dolmen Property Group. “The success of Laughing Monk has been tremendous, and we look forward to the continued growth their new tasting room will bring to our community of local, San Francisco-based creators here at UrbanPointSF.”
Located in Bayview, UrbanPointSF occupies more than half a city block. The surrounding area boasts ample parking, light traffic, and walkable access to restaurants, coffee shops, grocers, and recreational areas. UrbanPointSF is a short walk from several MUNI stops, the Third Street Rail and Interstates 101 and 280, making transportation of people and products to and from the city proper easily accessible.
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