Kim P.
Yelp
Barrel of Monks remains one of our favorite breweries because it does a lot of things well:
1) Nice variety of Belgian style beers including several blonde ales, which I particularly like. The Biermeisters are always busy inventing new and creative brews. On our most recent visit, I enjoyed the Single in Havana beer with guava flavor. My husband found the Single in the Sun blonde ale to be light and refreshing.
2) The best food truck around. Cheffrey Eats is permanently located at Barrel of Monks. It's owned by Chef Jeffrey Lemmerman, who proudly offers a range of burgers, sandwiches, tacos and to-die-for french fries.
If you sign up for Cheffrey's newsletters, you will get amusing updates regarding his new recipes as well as discount offers for the food. And you get a free order of fries as a reward for signing up. Can't beat that deal!
Cheffrey's latest creation, called Da Bear, is a combo of an angus beef burger and top round roast beef. It's topped with spicy veggies, provolone cheese, and includes au jus for dipping. People in our dinner group declared Da Bear to be Da Best!
I went slightly "off menu" and requested a chicken sandwich with burrata cheese and balsamic drizzle. No problem! The gal who took my order was very patient and accommodating. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the sandwich came with two large pieces of chicken. They were very well-seasoned and tasty.
Of course, we each had to add a side of fries for a small ($2) upcharge with Cheffrey's signature spicy BOMB sauce. Quite the zing, yet not overpowering. Pairs well with any beer!
3) Plenty of seating, especially outdoors. Inside was a bit cramped and noisy (why were there so many children hanging around a brewery?), so we enjoyed our brews and food al fresco. We were pleased to learn that the food would be delivered to us at our table so we wouldn't have to stand around waiting for it. More time to comfortably enjoy our beers!
In summary: Come to Barrel of Monks for the beer. Stay for the food!