Midtown Brewery and Taproom Orpheus Is Closing on Dutch Valley Road in April

Orpheus Brewing and its taproom close on Dutch Valley Road in Midtown Sunday, April 23, after nearly nine years there, an announcement on Facebook states. But a partnership with North Carolina-based craft beverage maker Bevana will continue brewing and distributing Orpheus’ beers while a new, smaller home is sought for the Atlanta brewery.

“We’d love to find the right opportunity for another Orpheus taproom in Atlanta, though the current priority is brewing for distribution with Bevana. I’ll continue with Orpheus managing the brands and developing new beers with them,” founder Jason Pellett tells Eater. “This will mean the end of the persistent out of stocks on shelves we’ve struggled with for the last couple years, and will allow even more new beers to be broadly released than we’ve recently been able to brew.”

The closure of its taproom and outsourcing of brewing beers for Orpheus aren’t the only big life changes in store for Pellett. Later this summer, he and wife Leslie are moving to Amsterdam where they plan to open a small-scale brewery called the Hollows focused on producing stouts and barleywine.

Pellett is known for beer experimentation and attempts to capture wild yeast from nearby Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden to create brews for Orpheus. It’s something he wants to continue doing at the Hollows, once the couple gets settled in Amsterdam and their new brewery is up and running.

“It’s been a dream for Leslie and I for a long time to move to Amsterdam, and at some point you just have to do it or give up the dream,” Pellett says of the impending move to the Netherlands. “The Hollows will be a much smaller operation where I’ll be guest brewing 500 - 1000L batches and we’ll operate it with just the two of us.”

The Hollows won’t include a taproom, and only distribute beers in the Netherlands to start. Pellett says he’ll be brewing in existing breweries in and around Amsterdam. But he hopes to one day get back to brewing his wild beers and a big double IPA. Beers from the Hollows could eventually land in Atlanta.

Pellett isn’t the only Atlantan to make a move to Amsterdam — or to open a business there. In 2019, Noni’s Deli owner Matt Ruppert opened Parakeet bar and restaurant in Amsterdam’s Oud-West neighborhood, just north of critically acclaimed wine bar and bistro Bar Centraal.