Robin Shepard
Jim Goronson pouring beer at the bar.
Jim Goronson at the Parched Eagle, one of Madison’s smallest breweries.
The Parched Eagle Brewpub at 1444 East Washington Ave. is for sale. Co-owner and brewmaster Jim Goronson says he’s had a good run “but it’s time to move on.” Goronson, 57, operated the Parched Eagle in Westport from 2015-2018, expanding to the present east-side location in 2017. So far Goronson says he’s had several inquiries but has yet to receive a viable offer. He’s selling the whole business (brewing equipment, furniture, recipes) and there may be an option to take over the lease, which ends next May.
Among the beers that have put Parched Eagle on the local beer map are Hop Bearer, an assertive IPA packed with loads of pine and citrus notes from Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra hops; and Grainee’s Special Bitter, a well-balanced, clean-tasting ESB.
Goronson took a full-time job outside of brewing in August and has since been brewing periodically while looking for a buyer. He’s hoping a new owner will take over the brewery and continue the Parched Eagle brands; however he’s open to selling off equipment as a last resort.
The Parched Eagle has cultivated a local following in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, but challenges coming out of the COVID downturn have been compounded by recent construction along the East Washington Avenue corridor and confusion about how to access the parking lot. For now, Parched Eagle remains open, and Goronson is planning to brew a favorite in November, a Russian imperial stout he named for his cat Geronimo.
In July, O’so Brewing’s Madhouse taphouse, just down the block on the other side of East Wash, closed its doors.
