Travis Dahle

For the Argus Leader

About a decade ago, Sioux Falls had but one craft brewery in town that I am aware of – the old Sioux Falls Brewing Company. A favorite beer of mine was the Ringneck Red.

Beyond that, most bars typically sold domestic beers. Sadly, the place closed down a few years ago. Since then, a “craft” beer was basically an international beer such as Guinness or Harp. Then in 2007, Monks House of Ale Repute was established to change that for Sioux Falls residents and bring a variety of beers, to beer drinkers' delight.

It may seem unbelievable to those of you who have become accustomed to the variety of beers that are available to us now, but there was a time with few beer options -- then Budweiser (sorry, America), Miller and Coors. In 2007 there were a total of 1,511 breweries, according to the Brewers Association. In 2015, that number reached 4,269. While Sioux Falls has seen some of this growth, it was Monk’s that really started that change.

For the uninitiated, Monks is the starting point for craft beer in Sioux Falls. Owners even have some great food and their own brewery – which sadly sometimes gets forgotten. The (sadly no more) wheninsiouxfalls-blog.tumblr.com summed up what a lot of people thought about Monks at the time – that you were amazed at how much the bartenders knew about beer (it’s on page 8 if you’re curious). Oh, and on a side note, if anyone knows who ran that site and why they stopped, please contact me as it still is one of my favorite sites from years ago.

Beer blog: Drinking good beer on a flat budget



Back to the beer – the cool thing about Monk’s is the variety of craft beers that you can get there. You can pick up everything from local beers such as Hydra Ritual and Woodgrain Wheat to regional choices including the Skinny Monk (one of my favorite names) from Brau Brothers to the signature beer the Brouwerij St. Bernardus Abt 12 from Watou, Belgium.

In addition to finding a huge variety of beers from other companies, it has Gandy Dancer Brew Works brewing their own favorite beers. Here’s the thing though — they don’t distribute any of their beers, so if you want to try it, you can’t pick up a bottle at Hy-Vee or anywhere else. Additionally, when you are trying one of their beers, you can also try some great food. I would attest that the best bratwurst I’ve had outside of the Minnesota State Fair has been at Monk’s. Beyond that, they have a wide selection of pizzas to choose from and some great green bean fries.

Nine years in, Monk’s is still going strong. It might not be as hipster as it once was -- the first Sioux Falls Tweetup was held there back on Feb. 5, 2009 -- but that might not be such a bad thing. It is, however, still a great place with great beer, food and people. While there are plenty of great breweries in Sioux Falls, don’t ignore where it all started.

Beer: Try the Immortal ale at Hydra Beer Company