Welcome to SJ's latest woman-run brewery
For more than a decade, the Bus Stop Music Café in downtown Pitman was a welcoming clubhouse of sorts for guitar-slinging singer-songwriters and other musicians who wanted to get in on the act and share a tune.
When longtime owner Victor "Vic" Martinson decided retire, he thought hard about what he’d want to become of his much-loved storefront listening room, with its vinyl records and giant mural of John Coltrane. The final show was offered in April.
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He believes he has found the right fit with Emily Barnes of Mullica Hill and Megan Myers of Mantua, good friends and home brewers who are set to open the Human Village Brewing Company near the corner of Broadway and Pitman avenues next month.
The founders of the small-batch brewery and tasting room have embraced the building’s past, preserving much of its musical character and hoping to keep live music inside its walls.
“This was a happy coincidence,’’ says Myers. “We had been looking up the road (at another possible location). The idea of opening a business together started with feeling of a café. We liked the idea of sitting and having your beer like you would in a Dutch town or a German town, and really taking in the experience.’’
When Martinson heard the women were scouting locations for a brewery, he approached them about his space. The borough was very supportive of the idea, as well, the owners say.
Myers recalls that it felt like fate.
“My son was wearing an Allman Brothers T-shirt and the album cover near where we were standing was of Gregg Allman,’’ she laughs.
Barnes adds they began to get to know the space and its ethos.
“We started coming to shows and open mic nights here, and the group of people was just so welcoming. And it was exciting, to have him passing it down to us. It really hit home that we were really welcome here in Pitman.’’
Human Village will be the second brewery to pitch its tent in town. Kelly Green Brewering Company opened in May, one of a half dozen breweries to put down stakes in South Jersey since the New Year.
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In addition to sharing the beers they have lovingly crafted for years, the friends wanted to establish a place friends and community members could come for a night out without crossing the bridge into Philadelphia.
Myers’ background is in politics, and it shows in the thoughtful mission statement on Human Village’s sleek website: “The human element takes raw materials from the earth and the forces of nature to combine them in a way that’s infinitely creative.’’
Barnes and Myers also are combining their own seemingly infinite forces, which add up to a deep understanding of people – and community – as well as a deep understanding of chemistry.
“I grew up in Bucks County, not far from New Hope,’’ says Myers. “I studied diplomacy, and I worked in politics on a crazy 24/7 schedule, with no days off. Brewing was a way, in the little bit of time that I had, to relax, to be creative. It was creative but also very deliberate.’’
The friends are not the first women to own a brewery in the region. Several breweries have women partners, most notably Forgotten Boardwalk in Cherry Hill (Jamie Queli) and Flying Fish in Somerdale (Robin Tama).
Myers will work at Human Village full time when they launch.
“I’m originally from Southern California, the Los Angeles area,’’ says Emily. “I am studying chemical engineering at Rowan right now. I definitely think it helps me be a provision brewer. (Megan) gives me some ideas and we work in our weird mad scientist beer lab.’’
“(Emily) solves the problem a lot of microbreweries have, which is consistency,’’ Myers adds.
The partner’s husbands -- Richard Myers and Phil Barnes -- work together at a nuclear power plant. (“They are very good at boiling water,’’ Megan Myers jokes.)
“Our spouses worked together for years,’’ she explains. “We just know each other from being family friends, and we started brewing together at family get-togethers. We would always banter around ideas.’’
So what about the beer?
Human Village Brewing has seven fermenters, with a one-barrel, all-electric system.
Both brewers say they plan to put an emphasis on educating beer lovers about the craft.
“The human village came first,’’ says Myers, “which means we are introducing beer drinkers to traditional styles but also some world flavors. … We want to cater to the whole community, not just guys with beards, the narrow focus a lot of breweries are aiming for.’’
“One of the benefits about a one-barrel system is we can pivot very quickly,’’ adds Myers, allowing for plenty of experimentation. “And we can really focus on our craft. When you see a one-barrel system, it’s easier for (guests) to really focus on the craft.’’
Beers offered for the lunch will likely include a Wild Flower Honey Blonde Ale, brewed with Anthony’s Local Honey from Sewell. “His honey is the best I’ve ever had in my life,’’ says Barnes.
Walk in the Pines is a white ale brewed with rosehips and spruce. “Rosehips grow naturally in the Pines,’’ says Myers, “and we want to keep it to be evocative of South Jersey and our environment.’’
And of course there will be an IPA, brewed with local hops.
Also look for a Jamocha Stout, brewed with coffee from an area roaster and chocolate flavors.
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Human Village will open with the tasting room and growlers available to take home or to downtown BYOBs and local events such as painting nights.
As for distributing to bars and restaurants, it is too early to tell what they will be able to produce in terms of keg volumes, they say.
Both Barnes and Myers say they also look forward to establishing relationships with other brewers in the region.
“It’s like musicians who cover each other’s music without competition,’’ Myers says. “You want to see what someone else is going to do with it.’’
And true to their word, Human Village owners say they plan to bring live music back to this space.
An old photo of the Bus Stop is featured on their website with the following caption: “The Human Village Brewing Co. has been trusted to kindle the spirit of the Bus Stop Music Cafe. We move forward with love and admiration for this unique place. Though it will be home to our brewery, the heart and soul remain, and the music will play on. Music makes us Human.’’
It won’t be as simple as booking musicians and promoting events on Facebook, however. New Jersey’s licensing regulations for breweries prohibits the regular offering of food, sporting events or live entertainment in the tasting rooms.
However, a limited number of private, ticketed events are permissible.
The partners say they’ll work closely with the state Alcohol Beverage Control Board to present periodic, ticketed music events that will meet the legal parameters allowed at breweries.
“Within their guidelines, we plan to keep some live music and our local artists here,’’ Myers says. “And we’ll keep the open mics going as part of those special events. The Bus Stop had a very regular schedule of music, but it’s better than having that experience disappear from Pitman altogether.’’
The 2014 mural of Coltrane, created for the Bus Stop and recently relocated to a central spot in the tasting room by Michele Iacovitti Peraino, stands as a promise of music to come.
For now, they are grateful for the Pitman community, from their nearby brewery neighbor to other small business owners and the government itself.
“Everyone has been very helpful, and really excited for us to open,’’ Barnes says.
“We couldn’t believe we hit it on our first try,’’ says Myers about Human Village’s home. “They really held doors open for us.’’
Tammy Paolino: (856) 486-2477; tpaolino@gannettnj.com
If you go
Human Village is located at 148 S Broadway, Pitman. It is expected to open sometime in August, pending state and federal licensing approval. Visit humanvillagebrewingco.com/village-blog/ or visit them on Facebook at https://facebook.com/humanvillagebrewingco/