PITMAN, NEW JERSEY

Formerly housing the Bus Stop Cafe, Pitman-based HUMAN VILLAGE BREWING COMPANY kept a lot of the nifty walled motifs when they opened up in November 2016 (closed 2024). Sundry vinyl albums dot the walls of this boutique downtown nanobrewery with the intimate feel of a cozy public house hosting live speaking events and musical acts.

Head brewer Rich Myers served easygoing, approachable and soft-toned brews at the rear serving station while my wife and I grabbed a small table at the unfinished pergo vinyl-floored venue. However, we missed out on flagship Harlem Shake Singel, inspired by the creamily oats-sugared Belgian-styled Haarlem Bock, which was one of Myers’ earliest inspirations.

Maize-dried moderation, Walking On Sunshine Cream Ale, picked up green peppered lemon spicing and mildly smoked pale malting.

Easygoing Belgian pale ale, Beers & The Bees, brought raw-honeyed Scotch licks to spritzy lemon drop tartness and green grape esters.

That same raw-honeyed graining showed up in Brass Monkey Winter Ale, a mildly spiced white wine-licked moderation with brittle banana-bread base.

Crisply clean Kviek yeast subsumed From The Midnight Sun, a Scandinavian farmhouse ale with barley-smoked toasted breading sopping up dried orange tartness, dehydrated apple musk, juniper-licked hop bittering and soured Vienna lagering.

Perfumed citrus spicing graced Abbey Road IPA, leaving mild juniper-embittered lemony grapefruit zest on its dry plantain bottom.

Sour-nutted chocolate roast nearly hid the lemon-pitted bittering, tart blackberry pucker and rustic leathery bottom scouring Bet On Black Saison.

Coffee-burnt chocolate roast guarded tobacco-soured walnut bittering to the brown toast foundation of Brown Eyed Girl, a middling brown ale.

Brown chocolate-spiced burnt coffee tones gain wood-seared hop char for Cole’s Porter, a lightly roasted moderate-medium body.

Sly chocolate rye malting held oily nut souring in check for Rye Of The Tiger, a slightly vinous stout.