For immediate release
7/25/2008

Local Business Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company to Close Doors

The Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company, located in Ashland at 2220 Ashland Street, is very sad to announce that it will be closing, after only eight and a half years in business in the Rogue Valley. Heartsong is an herbal micro-brewery, providing hand-crafted chai and their unique Pepper Brew beverages from Chico, CA to Seattle, WA, and employs local residents and youth.

Heartsong Chai began in Ashland, in 2000, brewing chai, a spicy tea, at night in Evo’s Java House. It was met with great fanfare by the Ashland community and one of the original founders decided to make a real business of it. Elizabeth Bretko, known to countless as the “Chai Mama,” bought a house in Jacksonville and converted her 12x13 square-foot detached garage into a certified commercial kitchen.

In 2003, Heartsong Pepper Brews were developed. Beginning with the Habanero Honey Brew, a kind spicy lemonade sweetened with local honey from the Wild Bee Honey Farm in White City or Queen Bee Apiaries in Corvallis, offered as an all-natural alternative to caffeine energy drinks. The concept is that hot peppers provide an endorphin rush, giving a person energy without the caffeine crash.

In 2004, Heartsong then began doing business as the Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company. Chad Derosier, known to many as “The Chai Guy,” joined Heartsong and helped to make the business grow, securing distribution in Eugene and then shortly after in Portland. The Habanero Honey Brew, and second Pepper Brew, Thai Dragon Tonic, proved to be a success and demand quickly outgrew the rate of production that only two people could do from such a small space. It was time grow and build their own brewery.

In the spring of 2006, Heartsong signed a lease to take over an abandoned Pizza Hut building, remodeling it and naming it the Chai Hut “A Food Artisan’s Gallery and Café.” They purchased two large kettles, a boiler, a 4-head filling machine, a capper and a labeling machine, allowing them the ability to produce 325 gallons per batch. They introduced a third Pepper Brew, the Mate Fire, purchasing yerba mate from locally owned Eco Teas and they hired several local people.

Heartsong began to grow rapidly, securing large-ticket accounts like New Seasons Markets in Portland, and PCC Markets in Seattle, WA and a few Whole Foods stores. At this point, while having grown the company grass-roots with very little investment, bills began to pile up as sales still did not meet the new overhead costs.

Through over a year of seeking investment from various individuals, groups and companies, Heartsong came up dry. Deep conversations were had with the local Daedalus Foundation but the relationship went sour and they left Heartsong out in the cold. Last week, Heartsong made the decision to close the operation of their business, a difficult decision when the factory is newly launched and sales are growing.

On August first, the Chai Hut will close the doors for their café operations. If people would still like to purchase “Love Jugs,” 64-ounce glass bottles of their chai or Pepper Brews, or chai spice blend boxes the Chai Hut will remain open on Thursdays through September for the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative CSA pick-up. For more information, visit www.heartsongchai.com or call 541-488-5614.