The Herbiery, a distinctive Madison taproom that specialized in hop-free beers made with herbs and spices, will close its doors on February 1. Owner and brewer Nia Ryan, who founded the brewery with the goal of offering an innovative twist on the craft beer scene, cited financial struggles and a lack of foot traffic as reasons for the closure.
Launched in 2018, Herbiery’s beers were initially brewed under contract by Karben4 Brewing, and the taproom at 2015 Winnebago St. opened in the summer of 2023. The brewery quickly became known for its unconventional approach, replacing hops with a variety of herbs and spices. Ryan’s best-known brews included Zingibeer, a ginger-spiced American lager, Great Sage, a witbier flavored with sage, and Misty Morning Coffee Kolsch, a light gold ale made with Colombian coffee beans.
Despite the unique concept, the taproom struggled to generate enough business to sustain operations. Ryan, who ran the business alone, expressed exhaustion over the challenge. “I’ve been doing this by myself and it’s wearing me down,” she said. “I’m to a point where I’m having a hard time seeing the other side.”
Herbiery stands out as the only known brewery in the country dedicated to hop-free beer. Ryan had hoped the concept would generate a groundswell of support, but was unable to secure the necessary capital to keep the business afloat. “I had a lot of confidence in the concept and the beer. I just ran out of capital,” she remarked.
Herbiery’s final beer, Paw Paw, an ale brewed with locally sourced paw paw fruit, offers a light Belgian-inspired flavor profile with notes of banana, pineapple, and mango. It will be available on tap until the taproom’s closure, but Ryan acknowledges the timing is unfortunate, as the new beer comes too late to turn the business around.
In addition to its beer offerings, the taproom became a space for innovative mocktails, many featuring local herbs and spices, such as the Ecotone Elixir made with elderberries from Wisconsin. Ryan also emphasized the Herbiery’s role as a welcoming, queer-forward community space, a feature that made the decision to close especially difficult.
Though the taproom is closing, Ryan is still responsible for the lease payments and is considering alternative uses for the space, including potentially selling it as a turn-key operation or supporting local co-op businesses and artisans.
While the Herbiery will no longer operate its taproom, Ryan plans to retain the brewery’s trademarks and brewer’s permit, leaving open the possibility of reviving the hop-free beer concept in the future. Remaining packaged beers are expected to be available in local stores for a few more months.
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