Robin Shepard
Handwritten sign advertising Paw Paw beer, with taproom and two person s blurred in the background.
Paw Paw will be the last beer from the Herbiery. It will close permanently Feb 1.
[Editor’s note: The Herbiery taproom reopened in August 2025; read more here. The original headline has been changed to avoid confusion about the brewery being closed.]
A unique Madison taproom, the Herbiery, will be closing its doors Feb. 1.
Herbiery owner and beer maker Nia Ryan attempted to find a niche in Madison’s craft beer scene by making beer without hops — instead substituting herbs and spices. Herbiery beers first appeared in 2018 and the taproom opened at 2015 Winnebago St. in summer 2023.
Ryan came up with the recipes and had the beers produced under contract by Karben4 Brewing. Herbiery beers are sold in several local stores, but the taproom was the best place to find them.
Unfortunately, the taproom never attracted enough traffic to make things work out. “I’ve been doing this by myself and it’s wearing me down,” says Ryan. “I’m to a point where I’m having a hard time seeing the other side.”
Ryan believes the Herbiery to be the only brewery in the country committed to producing only hop-free, herbal beer. “I had a lot of confidence in the concept and the beer. I just ran out of capital,” says Ryan. “I was expecting to marshal more of a groundswell of interest.”
Among Herbiery’s better known beers have been Zingibeer, a ginger-spiced light American lager made with wheat, oats, maize, rice and barley. Its Great Sage is a witbier featuring sage. The Misty Morning Coffee Kolsch is a light-bodied gold ale blended with Colombian coffee beans roasted by the Misty River Coffee Company in Cottage Grove. Under Tree is made with roasted dandelion, burdock, sarsaparilla, licorice and ginger.
The brewery’s newest beer, and the last one it will introduce before closing, is Paw Paw, a light Belgian-inspired ale with locally sourced paw paw from Ecotone Herbs of northern Illinois. The fruit lends the subtle sweetness of banana, pineapple and mango. It finishes at 6.7% ABV and is being offered on tap only ($8/pint). The beer is a great introduction to hop-less beer, but unfortunately Paw Paw comes a little too late in the game for Herbiery to turn things around.
The taproom also has been a creative outlet for mocktails, many featuring herbs and spices from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. One is the taproom’s Ecotone Elixir made with Wisconsin elderberries; another — a non-alcoholic take on the Old Fashioned — follows Wisconsin bar tradition.
The Herbiery has been more about what’s been offered at the bar — Ryan has tried to create a welcoming place for diverse patrons. “Closing the taproom is one of the saddest things. I know a lot of people have appreciated having this queer-forward space here,” says Ryan.
Ryan is still responsible for the taproom’s lease payments for the near future and is considering other uses for the space. One option is to sell everything to another owner as a turn-key operation. However, Ryan is also exploring ideas for how the location might support local co-op businesses and neighborhood artisans. The Herbiery has hosted many such businesses by allowing them to sell their products and artwork in the taproom.
For now, Ryan plans to hold onto the brewer’s permit and the Herbiery trademarks, just in case another opportunity for her hop-free beers pops up.
Any remaining packaged beers in stores from the Herbiery are expected to be around for a couple months.
