Naughty Monk Ale Works

Larger box of a room, modern, high ceiling, large windows, clean, bright and comfortable..."Belgian" and "naughty" themed beer, Kinda over naughty/sexy named beer, think about the "du-me Ipa" , "nice coconuts", "four -play quad"...you get the idea...yup pretty cheesey and straight out of the eighties/nineties....anyway, they had a food truck when I visited, cans to go of a pretty decent IPA, friendly bar keep, large TV playing the game or the golf...near highway 75, inland from Bradenton. FL...decent enough but nothing overly worth make a longer drive to get to

Drove up to Lakewood Ranch yesterday to visit Naughty Monk for 2 for 1 Tuesday; turned out to be a great experience. I sat with the only guy at the bar (at the time) so I could get some of the local knowledge; turns out he works there as a volunteer so I got quite a bit of info on the place. The bartender, Tory, was also very helpful; the to together made selection easy since there are over 20 handles, many Belgians and several IPAs. They have about 18 seats at the large bar and ample seating at the many tables. It's a newer place so everything was crisp and clean. I'll be back.

Well, it's a brand-new brewery, opening in late November, 2016. I only stopped in on a Wednesday evening for a flight before heading home and to check out the new place.
The location seems quite good, in the Lakewood Ranch area east of I-75 and located in a shopping center that should bring quite a bit of foot traffic and awareness. Very well done, very yuppie-friendly. (Considering the locale, that's a good thing for them.) Plenty of space inside to get around the tables, pool tables and granite bar area. Very inviting.

So why a low vibe score? It's really, REALLY LOUD! I was told - apologetically & repeatedly - that it was "Mom's Night". There were a lot of 30-something females grouped around, conversing, to back that up. But they need, DESPERATELY, some sound-absorbing materials installed. When the bartenders have to lean over the bar to shout to you from less than 2 feet away, there's a problem. I actually put in ear plugs to stave off the oncoming headache.

There were 5 beers of their own on tap when I went with a total of 24 taps available. An IPA (duh), a Belgian brown, a Belgian single, an amber & a stout with coconut. Guest taps included several ciders along with Florida & national craft beers. I tried all theirs save the IPA (not a fan of the style). The brews were solid but nothing stood out. I assume there will be tweaking of recipes as they get feedback from customers unless they are aiming for M.O.R. brews. Time will tell.