Laughing Monk Brewing, which has had a taproom in the Bayview for nine years, is taking over a large space that's been vacant since last summer on Fulton Street in NoPa.

As the Chronicle reported Wednesday — and as The Real Deal first reported in February — Laughing Monk Brewing is taking over the former Barrel Head Brewhouse, which closed last year after a decade of operation at 1785 Fulton Street. The large, vintage industrial space space was formerly called Fulton Street Bar, and Barrel Head was a brewpub project by former Park Chalet assistant brewer Ivan Hopkinson.

Laughing Monk was founded in 2013 by former teacher, homebrewer and Belgian beer enthusiast Andrew Casteel. The brewery's lineup now includes a variety of IPA and pale-ale styles, as well as German beers, in addition to Belgian trippels and the like.

It's heartening to know that Laughing Monk is in expansion mode at a time when other local craft breweries have appeared to be struggling — following a decade in which the craft-beer boom created something of a glut of good beer in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Demand for beer is on the decline, particularly among younger drinkers, but Laughing Monk continues to operate three locations and sell its canned beers at over 500 retail stores across the region, as well as on Good Eggs.

In 2023, Laughing Monk acquired Sunnyvale-based Faultline Brewing, and turned Faultline's Sunnyvale gastropub into a Laughing Monk gastropub. The brewery also operates a gastropub location in Scotts Valley, outside Santa Cruz, so the second SF location will bring its location count to four.

Laughing Monk's current owner Sam Ghadiri still has not commented publicly on the NoPa location, or discussed any timeline for opening.