Contrast Artisan Ales opens second location in Marietta

“When I started, I thought I wanted to have a big production brewery, and then after the laws changed, I just bootstrapped a small brewery,” he said. “I thought it was more a lifestyle business, and I’d keep it small in a single location.”

But Contrast quickly gained a following, expanded and brought on more brewing staff. The brewery tripled its capacity and now is distributing a lot of the beer it makes.

Eventually, Medlin decided another location was warranted.

Medlin said he was interested in having a place in Marietta, although he had not spent much time there. “But there were a lot of quality breweries in the city that were struggling,” he said. “So, we started coming out to Marietta ... and I was impressed by how much activity there was, even on Tuesday or Wednesday nights.”

Working with Bridger Properties and Gentle Works architects, Medlin found a compact, multilevel space that could become a well-appointed tasting room with table seating, a U-shaped banquette, a bar with 16 taps, a walk-in cooler and a merchandise area.

Credit: Bob Townsend

Credit: Bob Townsend

“Some of the beer will be fermented here, but it won’t be brewed here,” Medlin said. “And we’ll have a little production space in the back where we’ll have some keg conditioning.”

He said he’s most excited about the patio behind the building, and the pedestrian-only alleys behind and next to the taproom. “It’s going for a kind of European vibe, and there’s a shared park,” he said.

Asked what he has been brewing lately, Medlin echoed what many brewers have been saying. “We’ve been doing a lot more lagers in the last couple of years,” he said, mentioning dry rice lagers, Italian pilsners, honey lagers and Czech dark lagers. “They are a little more traditional than what we started out with. We mostly had IPAs and sours back then.”

Speaking of India pale ales, Contrast consistently brews an old-school New England-style offering this time of year.

“Every year, I always look forward to Fresh to Death,” Medlin said. That’s a beer Contrast distributes to local bars and restaurants, such as Argosy, Brick Store Pub, Midway, Kimball House and My Parents’ Basement.

Contrast Artisan Ales. 5504 Peachtree Road, Chamblee; 101 Church St., Marietta. contrastartisanales.com

.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter

Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on X and @ajcdining on Instagram.