USA, WI: Ale Asylum closes its doors after 16 years of business

Madison's largest craft brewery Ale Asylum has closed its doors after 16 years of business and being a pioneer for craft brewery industry in the city, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on July 27.

The company announced its closure on social media on July 22.

"We began with a dream and bag of hops in May of 2006," the post said. "The past couple years have been difficult for all business 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."

The closure comes after the company nearly shut down in October last year while looking for a buyer.

Wisconsin State Journal reported that Ale Asylum ended up closing the kitchen but kept the taproom open, selling beers like Hopalicious, Ambergeddon and more.

Ale Asylum co-founder Otto Dilba told the State Journal that they had secured a buyer, and would reopen the kitchen and expand their portfolio of beers after the purchase, but that purchase fell through.

“The situation just didn’t turn out the way everyone had hoped with the buyer,” Dilba told the State Journal. “We had worked for the past several months to get things to where we wanted them to be, but they just didn’t pan out.”

The Ale Asylum Riverhouse that closed in Milwaukee in 2020 was not owned by the Madison brewery.

Ale Asylum did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal Sentinel.

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