Lakefront is a small brewery compared to the national breweries, but its impact has been large on the industry. Until recently, government regulation required all beer to be made with 25 percent barley, making those with wheat intolerance unable to drink beer. Klisch created a wheat-free formula and lobbied for the government to change its definition of beer. The legislation was changed, and today Lakefront’s gluten-free creation is one of the top sellers in the company. One year later, Anheuser-Busch released its own version of wheat-free beer.

According to Dilba, his Ale Asylum takes a different direction by “being progressive by keeping it retro.” Founded in 2006, Ale Asylum prides itself on brewing traditional beer for its consumers. All natural but not certified organic, the brewery concocts different types of beer with only water, malt, hops and yeast.

“A lot of breweries do choose to make things unique by throwing fruit and spices in,” Dilba says. “If you know what you’re doing about brewing, you don’t have to jazz it up with fruit and spices.”

A new player in the brewing game, Ale Asylum has an advantage by operating the only bottling facility in Madison, an asset that allows for more control over the finished product, according to Dilba. While it costs significant money to get the equipment to bottle the beer, the sacrifice is worth it. “We have ultimate quality control from the moment it’s brewed to the moment it reaches your hands,” Dilba says.

Simple beer has been well-received in the Madison area, and buying beer from Ale Asylum means helping the community. This support is increasingly rare since Dilba says no major breweries have owners from the United States. “Not only do you have the quality side of it, you’re supporting the local economy,” Dilba says. “All of our jobs are right here in Madison. We pay state taxes too.”

Add a brewmaster with more than 20 years of experience and Ale Asylum sees a successful formula for those searching out a traditional-tasting beer. “For people looking for brewing culture in general, they don’t come to trends and fruit this and spice that,” Dilba says. “It’s interesting, it’s drinkable. We’ve found with a variety of our beers that people will come back to it time and time again. There’s no gimmick to it.”

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