Orpheus Brewing will close its taproom and production facility in Atlanta on April 23, but the brand will live on as it transitions into beverage platform Bevana’s portfolio, Orpheus founder and brewmaster Jason Pellett shared Sunday on Twitter.
North Carolina-headquartered Bevana will manage Orpheus’ distribution and online sales, while Pellett will guide the brewing direction of the brand from Amsterdam.
“I’ll be working with Bevana going forward managing the brand and developing new beer, so our beer is actually about to become more available,” Pellett wrote in the post. “I’ll also be moving to Amsterdam this summer to start a new brewery, The Hollows!”
Pellett’s new brewing venture, The Hollows, will have no connection to Orpheus, he added.
In a Facebook post announcing the closing of the taproom and brewery, Pellett said consumers may have noticed that finding Orpheus’ beer on retail shelves has been difficult over the last few years. Bevana will help reverse those trends, making Orpheus’ flagship Transmigration of Souls double IPA, Atalanta plum saison and other beers more accessible.
Pellett said he will also work with Bevana to develop new beers to be produced by the platform.
“We’re really fortunate that Aaron Gore and the Bevana team sees the beauty in what we created and I’ll continue working with them to get the beer made and develop new beers,” Pellett said. “That will become a remote position that I’ll be doing from Amsterdam when Leslie Campbell and I move there this summer. Those who know me know how much of a toll the last few years have taken on me and I’m looking forward to a new adventure, especially now that I know that it’ll include guiding Orpheus onward.”
Orpheus, which was founded in 2014, will join a list of Bevana partner brands that include: Bay Cannon Beer Company, Big Boss Brewing, Champion Brewing, Crafted, D9 Brewing, Fatty’s Beer Works, Heist Brewery, Hi-Wire Brewing, Native Ceuticals, New Sarum Brewing, Pursuit Ales, Side Hustle Brews & Spirits, Tranquilo, The Unknown Brewing Company, and UpDog Kombucha.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to know Jason for some time, and have been a fan of Orpheus’ beers for even longer,” Aaron Gore, Bevana’s senior director of business development, said in a February press release, issued before the announced closing. “More importantly though, they have always embodied the ethos and mission that craft beer is really about for us. Customers don’t just want amazing beer, which Orpheus definitely has. They want amazing beer made by real people, with real passion, who care about what they do.”
Bevana offers e-commerce sales of its partner brands to 42 states. The company also operates a brewery, taproom and research-and-development facility in Newton, North Carolina, where the company’s partner brands are also sold.