A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

As I've mentioned before, the San Francisco Bay Area has a rich history for beer and brewing. As a result, the city sports a lot of great beer bars and brewpubs. On a recommendation from a friend who was recently in said city, this week's What's On Tap takes a look at one of the area's newer gastropubs, The Monk's Kettle.

Foodies take note: The Monk's Kettle (opened in December of 2007) really aims to put the "gastro" in gastropub. Now, I don't get paid to talk about food (I had half a boiled potato and Fun Dip for dinner), but their fries comes with something called "aioli" and they've got an $8 pretzel on the menu (not sure if that's a pro or a con to try to get beer drinkers through the door).

But food aside, The Monk's Kettle's beer list alone proves they are worthy of a stop if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Check out their entire current draft list after the jump...

• Reality Czech (Moonlight Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA)
• Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse (Hacker-Pschorr Bräu, München, GER)
• Untouchable Pale (Speakeasy, San Francisco, CA)
• Stone Pale (Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA)
• Stone 10th Anniversary (Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA)
• The Baron (Beach Chalet, San Francisco, CA)
• Pliny the Elder (Russian River, Santa Rosa, CA)
• Sierra ESB (Sierra Nevada, Chico, CA)
• Poppy Jasper (El Toro Brewing Co., Morgan Hill, CA)
• Big Cypress Brown (Magnolia, San Francisco, CA)
• Altman's Sticke Alt (Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, Fairfax, CA)
• Myer's Scotch Ale (21st Amendment, San Francisco, CA)
• Double Bastard (Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA)
• Fred (Hair of the Dog, Portland, OR)
• King of the Hill (San Francisco Brewing Co., San Francisco, CA)
• Koslov's Revenge (Thirsty Bear, San Francisco, CA)
• Drake's Imperial Stout (Drake's Brewing Co., San Leandro, CA)
• Duchesse de Bourgogne (Brouwerij Verhaeghe, Vichte, BEL)
• Uncle Fudd (Moonlight Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA)
• Triple Impériale (Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs, Honnelle, BEL)
• Buffalo Belgian Stout (Brasserie Van den Bossche, Sint-Lievens-Esse, BEL)
• Siamese Twin (Uncommon Brewers, Santa Cruz, CA)
• De Ranke Guldenberg (Brouwerij De Ranke, Wevelgem, BEL)
• Three Philosophers (Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY)

The Monk's Kettle promises "a concentration of Californian breweries on the draught list" and boy do they deliver. For those not counting at home, that's 24 taps, featuring 17 CA beers from 14 different California breweries with a whopping 13 of them from the Northern California/Bay Area (leaving Stone as the lone brewer repping Southern Cali). Much like last week's What's On Tap selection, Toronto's Volo, The Monk's Kettle is working to keep it local. With its prevalence of "go green" and "go local" lifestyles, I'm sure those in the region appreciate their efforts.

The bulk of the remaining taps are aimed at earning their name. "The Belgian Trappist monks were arguably the first craft brewers. Though we are not a Belgian restaurant, our name pays homage to these artisans," states their website, and so we find 4 Belgian selections and an ale from Ommegang, one of the most prominent brewers of Belgian-style beers in America.

Don't see anything you like on the taps? Beyond draught, the bar prides itself on stocking a bottle selection that spans as many styles as possible. But let's be honest, if you don't see anything you like on the taps, you're probably at the wrong place. I'm sure you can find a slightly less snotty place in the Mission, right?!

The Monk's Kettle is located at 3141 16th St. in San Francisco, CA. www.monkskettle.com.