Wednesday night, my good friend Pete Slosberg, invited me to join him to hear Tony Magee, the owner of Lagunitas Brewing, perform at Dean Biersch’s new brewpub, the Hopmonk Tavern.

Outside the new Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol, California.

And from across the street.

The location was originally the Powerhouse Brewery and then Sebastopol Brewing, which closed last fall. Dean removed the outdoor seating that overlooked the parking lot and instead put the outdoor seating into a wonderful beer garden in the center of the beautiful stone building. There’s a fountain in the center of the garden comfy sofas and nooks and crannies of seating everywhere.

With covered bench seating for dining and conversation.

The side building is separated from the main dining room and has been converted into a music hall with its own bar.

My good friend Tony Magee, from Lagunitas, warms up for his set.

The Country Ramblers played a long set of old, traditional blues songs, while Pete and I along with Ron and Barbara Lindenbusch (who’s sales manager for Lagunitas) had a nice dinner just outside the door to the music hall. The menu included some tasty looking items. I frankly love gourmet comfort food and the menu was loaded with such items. I had the grilled cheese sandwich with turkey on a multi-grain bread. It was wonderful. We also shared a few of the appetizers, and the cheese plate with local artisan cheeses was a standout.