Pitman is the latest city to join the craft-beer craze that is sweeping the nation, where a sustainable brewery owned by a Rowan student will open this Friday.

Human Village Brewing Company was founded by 25-year-old Rowan University student Emily Barnes and 32-year-old Megan Myers. The two women turned their love for beer into their own local brewery, and each brings their own unique piece of the process to the partnership.

“Opening a brewery is an exciting opportunity to not only present our brews, but to connect people with the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the beer,” Myers said.

“We saw how all the businesses around us could help us, and we could help them…that’s what we really liked about pitman.” – emily barnes

The Human Village Brewing Company will be located at the former location of the Bus Stop Music Café. Barnes believes that the opening of the brewery will bring more people to the borough, as well as help other local businesses in the area.

“That’s what we really liked about Pitman,” Barnes said. “We saw how all the businesses around us could help us, and we could help them.”

The local brewery aims to use as many local ingredients as possible in the brewing process. They use local honey from Anthony’s Local Honey in Sewell. They also intend to use local hops, one of the main ingredients in beer, when the hops are in season.

In addition, Human Village Brewery aims to be sustainable in its practices.

“We donate our grains to farmers,” Barnes said. “We also have people that use them for composting, and for fertilizer.”

The brewery will host around 400 patrons on Friday for its grand opening from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. All tickets for the free event were claimed within 48 hours of being available.

Despite the high demand, a patron must have a ticket to attend the grand opening. Those who are not able to make it to the grand opening can look for the regular brewery hours to be announced in the coming days.

Human Village Brewery will start out serving eight different types of beer with names such as “I’m Bringing Hefe Back” and “The Flying Scotsman.” The beers will be served in a variety of ways including flights, growlers and in full-glass pours.

The idea of forming relationships with local patrons and the Rowan community has both women excited for the grand opening, and for the future of the brewery.

“Beer is a beverage of social gathering,” Myers said. “I think that our area will benefit from seeing what is in the glass in a new light.”

Follow Human Village Brewing Company’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The brewery is located at 148 South Broadway Street in Pitman.

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