Wisconsin beer fans said farewell to a Madison mainstay last week.
Craft brewer Ale Asylum closed its doors on Friday, July 22. In an announcement on its Facebook page and website, owners of the brewery said it closed due to recent hardship.
“We began with a dream and a bag of hops in May of 2006,” a message on the brewery’s website reads. “The past couple years have been difficult for all businesses but with your support we were able to weather the storm. However, under circumstances we cannot control, we have made the decision to close our doors.”
Nearly 700 comments followed the brewery’s Facebook announcement, many expressing gratitude for positive memories shared while sipping Ale Asylum’s beers.
The brewery operated in Madison, Wis. for the past 16 years, serving nationally loved canned beers, such as the Hopalicious pale ale, Plush Crush IPA, and Vax On, Vax Off pale ale.
The brewery was the largest craft producer in Madison and intended to sell earlier this year, as the Wisconsin State Journal reports. An acquisition had previously been set, but the deal is assumed to have dissolved prior to Ale Asylum’s closure.
The brewery’s co-founder Otto Dilba told the news organization that Ale Asylum now intends to sell its brand recipes to other beer producers. Brewing equipment from the 45,000-square foot production location will be sold at auction, too.
Ale Asylum’s closure follows a string of brewery shutterings, after a difficult several years for businesses during the pandemic. Buffalo Bill’s Brewery, the brewpub that first pioneered the autumnal Pumpkin Ale, also closed in early June.
