Ale Asylum Brewing Co. is a renowned craft brewery located in Madison, Wisconsin, known for its exceptional ales and lagers. Established in 2006, Ale Asylum has gained a loyal following and has become an integral part of Wisconsin’s vibrant craft beer scene. To understand the history and origin of Ale Asylum Brewing Co., we need to delve into its founders’ journey, their vision, and the growth of the brewery.
The story of Ale Asylum begins with Otto Dilba and Dean Coffey, two passionate individuals with a shared love for beer. Dilba, a Wisconsin native, was inspired by his travels through Europe, where he discovered the rich traditions and flavors of European beer styles. Meanwhile, Coffey, originally from Colorado, had a background in chemical engineering and brought his expertise in brewing science to the table.
In 2005, Dilba and Coffey decided to combine their talents and turn their passion into a business venture. They envisioned creating a brewery that would focus on producing high-quality, handcrafted ales and lagers while pushing the boundaries of traditional beer styles. With this vision in mind, they laid the foundation for Ale Asylum Brewing Co.
The brewery’s name, “Ale Asylum,” reflects the founders’ belief that brewing great beer is akin to an asylum for their love of ales. It also hints at their desire to experiment and break free from the conventional norms of brewing.
With determination and a clear direction, Dilba and Coffey secured a location on Madison’s north side and began transforming it into a brewery. They invested in state-of-the-art equipment, ensuring that they had the tools necessary to produce exceptional beer. Ale Asylum’s focus on quality and their commitment to using the finest ingredients set them apart from other breweries in the region.
In 2006, Ale Asylum Brewing Co. officially opened its doors to the public. The brewery’s initial lineup included popular flagship beers such as Hopalicious, an American pale ale bursting with hop flavors, and Ambergeddon, an amber ale with a balanced malt profile. These beers quickly gained popularity among beer enthusiasts, propelling Ale Asylum to the forefront of the craft beer movement in Wisconsin.
In September of 2012, Ale Asylum moved into its much larger current location, a 45,000-square-foot brewery and tasting room, just a mile down the road. The expansion provided them five times the brewing space and four and a half times the production capacity. The new facility positioned Ale Asylum to move from sixth in size among Wisconsin’s craft breweries to among the top three-behind Wisconsin craft brewers New Glarus Brewing and Stevens Point Brewery.
The new facility has a new five-vessel brewing system, increasing the brewing capacity to 33 barrels at a time. (A barrel is approximately 31 gallons.) Ale Asylum also purchased a much faster bottling line, a system that once packaged bottles at Sweet Water Brewing in Atlanta. Just the bottling and packaging area of the new brewery occupies about 8,000 square feet, equal to what everything fit into at the Kinsman Boulevard location. At full speed it turns out 277 bottles a minute, four times more than the old system. The bottling line allows for both 12- and 22-ounce bottles. There is also be enough brewery space to eventually hold over 40 fermenters.
A big part of Ale Asylum’s showier profile is its new tasting room. It’s done up in the brand’s familiar orange and black, with cherry wood and stone accents along the main bar and walls. The work of an area graffiti artist will be featured on a wall in the main tasting room. Among the most impressive new features are two outdoor patios that can seat over 150. An upper deck overlooks the main patio and Packers Avenue. Inside, two bars that support 20 tap lines each mean less waiting for a pint in the tasting room.
Unfortunately Ale Asylum closed its doors in July 2022 after 16 years in business, with the brewery’s owners citing the monthly lease on the property becoming too much to handle. The brewery was the largest craft producer in Madison and intended to sell earlier in 2022, but the deal is assumed to have dissolved prior to Ale Asylum’s closure.
Ale Asylum sold its brand recipes to Karben4 brewing company. Brewing equipment from the 45,000-square foot production location was sold at auction.
