Boone Valley Brewing Co. to close after 14 years in Boone, Iowa

A garage project that grew into one of Boone’s most familiar beer stops is heading for last call after 14 years, with Boone Valley Brewing Co. setting Friday, June 12, as its final day in business.

The closure ends a run that started with five-gallon batches brewed at home with family, friends and neighbors, then moved into a taproom in early 2012 on 7th Street in Boone. Boone Valley later expanded in April 2015 to a 20-barrel system and shifted main production across the street, turning a small neighborhood experiment into a brewery that sent bottles and kegs into central Iowa.

Before the shutdown, regulars still have time to catch the beers that built the place. Boone Valley’s lineup has centered on Roxie Irish Red, Boone Valley IPA and Halligan Porter, along with rotating specialty releases. The brewery’s website says it typically makes five to six flagship beers and three to four specialty beers, a mix that helped give the taproom a steady identity while still leaving room for seasonal changes.

The business is located at 816 7th Street in Boone, Iowa 50036, and its website describes it as a nanobrewery with a maximum occupancy of 50 and a 2-barrel system. That small-scale setup has long been part of the draw, along with the ownership team listed there: Rick Srigley as head brewer, Clare Srigley as business manager and Danielle Crook as director of social media. A downtown Boone business profile said Rick Srigley also built credibility by entering beer competitions in Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where he won several awards.

Danielle Crook and Rick Srigley said the decision comes as Rick retires, closing a chapter that began with trial-and-error brewing and grew into a place where Boone regulars marked birthdays, evenings out and plenty of ordinary nights with a pint. Until the taproom closes, the family is asking customers to stop in, swap memories and raise one more glass in the room they helped build.

Boone Valley’s exit also lands in a tougher market for independent brewers. The Brewers Association says U.S. craft brewing contributed $72.5 billion to the economy in 2024 and supported more than 440,000 jobs, while an Iowa economic impact report found the state’s breweries generated $1.25 billion in impact in 2022 and supported 14,448 jobs. Even so, Iowa Brewers Guild representative Noreen Otto has said the state is in a period of contraction, with closures around Iowa and about a 5% decline in national craft beer production. For Boone, that means the loss of more than a taproom. It means the end of a long-running local institution that started as hobby brewing and lasted long enough to become part of the town’s routine.