How It All Started
The seed of Herbiery, and hop free beer, whirled on the salty, gusting breeze over Homer, AK to land in Nick’s imagination. The seed took root. Between guiding canoe trips in the Swan Lake wilderness, leading fat tire bike trips on the beaches, and landscaping in the mountains across the bay Nick was thankful for 18 to 23 hours of daylight. Free time was for two things: losing himself in the world of the written word or blurring the lines of where his self ended and the tidal zones, forests, and fireweed filled meadows began. It was there, between those two points, that he discovered the book, “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers,” by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Many of the plants described grew around Homer. Nick needed to close the gap between “plants” and “beer.” The only way to do that would be to make it himself. Winter drove him out of Alaska and to a surprisingly rural New Jersey to live with his parents. Production began and so did education. After completing three Herbalism certifications from the Herbal Academy of New England and brewing 17 unique brews, Nick was ready for the next step. With a deafening demand for more echoing off of his friends, family, and whoever tried these beers, Nick moved to Madison, WI. A homecoming of sorts as Nick was born in Stevens Point. Herbiery easily found a home in the verdant valleys, oaken hills, and marsh-ringed lakes of Wisconsin.
About Nick Ryan
Nick is the Founder of Herbiery. Nick has orbited Wisconsin his entire life. He was born into a farmhouse outside of Bancroft, WI. Nick cherishes the memory of harvesting wild asparagus in early summer’s morning dew, flying kites in corn fields against the purpling sky of late autumn, and churning through fresh snowfalls on tiny legs perched atop cross-country skis. From Bancroft to Southern California, Chicago’s Suburbs, South Dakota, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Alaska, and NJ those memories of Wisconsin’s natural beauty always remained. While running the non-profit Wild River Academy out of Minneapolis, from 2012 to 2016, Nick finished the 2016 American Birkebeiner XC Ski Race in Hayward, Wisconsin. When the time came to return home to Wisconsin, Madison was an easy choice and quickly became the home of Herbiery Brewing. Nick explores the natural spaces around Madison by running long distances and participates in local races. When he’s not running, he’s continuing his herbal education with courses, books, and the crafting of herbal salves, syrups, and salad dressings. Wandering out of this world and into others, Nick insatiably reads at the New Wine Cooperative house where he resides in Madison, WI. He loves cooking elaborate dinners for his 9 other housemates. The summers in Madison provide a backdrop of beautiful weather for Nick to play ultimate frisbee in the Madison Ultimate Frisbee Association (MUFA) leagues.