In summer 2024, a highly anticipated new brewery will plant its roots between the Ballard and Fremont bridges in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. Co-founded by Andrew Schwartz, Tim Kamolz and Mallorie King, Human People Beer brings decades of experience — as well as experimentation and curiosity — to a thriving Pacific Northwest craft beer market.
While they don’t intend to reinvent the wheel, Schwartz is confident their experience and natural curiosity for flavor will prove to be a great addition to the area’s brewery scene.
“There’s more competition than ever on the craft beer side of things,” Schwartz says. “What we have to do is make beer that we love and are really proud of. And that takes into account all the knowledge, technology and experience we have making beer, and present that to people.”
Crafting Success
Schwartz and Kamolz met while working at Modern Times Beer & Coffee in San Diego, where they worked their way up brewhouse ranks and invented hundreds of recipes for the well-respected brewery. While working there, they met King, who has been in the brewing supply-chain business for years, both in America and internationally.
Schwartz, who studied microbiology at Oregon State University, says his interest in yeast played a major role in getting into the beer industry. “It’s a living organism that you use to make beer, and that’s where I started. That’s where my passion began,” Schwartz says.
From there, Schwartz’s curiosity has expanded to the raw ingredients of beer, like hop varieties, malt styles and even water, he says. For Human People Beer, he expects many of these ingredients to be sourced from Washington, and to experiment with them and others to make beer with unique flavor profiles.
With a new city to call home, Schwartz is excited about the prospect of forming relationships with bars, restaurants and bottle shops around Seattle. Specifically, he mentions all the hole-in-the-wall, unassuming spots to grab a drink around the city, and how cool it would be to have Human People Beer served there.
A Cozy Tasting Room
Of course, Schwartz and company are also excited to serve people firsthand in their tasting room, for which they have a special vision. Schwartz expects Human People Beer will aim to be a cozy and intimate place to relax. “It’s cozier, it’s welcoming, and it has an Alpine character to it,” Schwartz explains of his vision. “So it’s really connected with nature and the land around it.”
Schwartz says they’re not 100% certain about when Human People Beer will have its grand opening, but they’re aiming for July or August in the West Canal Yards, which is currently being developed. “It’s a building project. It’s going to take some time, but hopefully this is the year it opens up.”
To stay updated on Human People Beer’s future, follow them on Instagram or subscribe to their newsletter on their website.
