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Local Tap Talk: Insight Brewing Company

Over the last five years, the craft brewery movement has grown exponentially in Minnesota. The Associated Press says licensing records show two-thirds of Minnesota's active breweries opened in 2010 or later. So we decided to help you – and your livers – keep up with the taproom trend by stopping by some of these Twin Cities brewhouses. This week features Insight Brewing .

For co-founder Ilan Klages-Mundt, Insight Brewing is about "bringing the world of beer to Minnesota." And it makes sense, considering the places Ilan has been.

Originally a music performance major (for cello) in college, Ilan's interest took a somewhat unexpected turn to beer and brewing (why exactly, we'll get into later) and he was quickly traveling overseas to England, Denmark and Japan to work for, and study, the art of brewing.

"I started in England and worked on a hop farm south of London for a while. That was super manual labor -- 16-hour days. It was a lot of work. But that was cool because I was working with hops. And it helped fund my trip back home, which I didn't have yet," he said.

Now, after returning with a vision for his own brewery and taproom, Ilan Insight Brewery opened in late September to eager masses waiting to taste flavors inspired from remote places. And the current selection is just the beginning.

"There's still a lot more to go, which is part of our plan. I do actually get to travel and visit more places, learn about ingredients, work with other brewers," he said.

And to think it all started with a sip of beer in 2007. Not just any beer, of course, but the "world's best beer."

For more on that and other interesting tidbits -- including how Ilan feels about the how Minnesota treats brewers -- check out the interview with Ilan below!

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Insight Brewing Company
(credit: CBS)

Could you tell me a little more about your experience tasting the "world's best beer"?

When I first tasted that beer, I had just gotten into craft beer. Hadn't really known anything about it. This was in 2007. I had traveled to Denmark to visit family at the time. I had only tasted two beers before then that had been even remotely good – I've tasted some bad beers of course – but not a lot of good ones. So, I go to Denmark and I was just kind of learning about the beer. I went to RateBeer.com and printed out the top 50 beer list in the world and I brought it to a bottle shop that ended up being a really good bottle shop and asked for the No. 7 beer, because that was the highest Danish beer. They didn't have that. But luckily they had the No. 1, which was the Westvleteren 12, which was brewed by Belgian Monks at the Sint-Sixtusabdij monastery. Hell of a beer. It was $72 a six pack, but they allowed you to buy by the bottle, so I got two bottles back … and popped one open. And it was like the sun came out. That's when I realized, 'Holy crap, that's beer,' and it made me instantly want to learn about the history of beer, the culture of beer, how beer is made, who makes it. I didn't know these things.

So, I became motivated immediately, got back to the states … I start reading textbooks, I start talking to brewers, I joined a home brew club and I started brewing my own beer. That's not unlike what a lot of people do.

How did that inspire the brewery?

So, my professor saw this passion of mine and asked me to provide for a scholarship that, once you're done, you can win this fellowship that will pay you to travel around the world, studying whatever you're passionate about. And it sounded like a great deal … so, I applied for brewing culture and techniques.

I did become a finalist, but didn't win … I was sad for about an hour, but then I realized I'll just figure it out. So, I contacted these breweries and asked them if I get a place to stay and a meal, can I do that if I just work harder? Luckily they said yes. So, I left the summer of 2010 with $3,400 dollars and no plane ticket home.

I started in England and worked on a hop farm south of London for a while. That was super manual labor -- 16-hour days. It was a lot of work. But that was cool because I was working with hops. And it helped fund my trip back home, which I didn't have yet.

Then, I worked at Fullers Brewery in London, Kiuchi Brewery in Japan where I actually did mostly sake brewing and also beer, then two smaller breweries in Denmark and I biked throughout Belgium and France.

That's the not-so-quick story of how that happened.

Japan. That's really awesome. Have you used some of the recipes/ingredients/techniques used in Japan?

Yep! In my backyard in Japan I had a Yuzu tree. That's where I learned about the Yuzu fruit, which was used in a lot of Japan cuisine. It's this really unique citrus character and immediately I thought hops. 'This and hops can work well together.' Actually, over there, I got to work with their pilot patch system and create a Yuzu pale ale recipe. I tasted the Yuzu and I guessed that the (recipe) should use about this much and, luckily, I guessed the right amount of Yuzu to just push the hops a little further, a little bit more citrus. It's not a fruit beer, it's a pale ale, but you get this really unique character to it.

You've traveled around the world and have seen many different breweries – what's the most memorable brewery/moment during that time? How has that helped you with Insight?

The most important thing that I learned the whole time I was brewing with these breweries -- and the advice came from the head brewer at Fullers, John Keeling – he had said 'when you're making a recipe, keep it simple.' And it sounds like basic advice, but it's not. It translates into all aspects of the business. Our brewing set up is incredibly simple. Our recipes are simple. But the thing is, simple doesn't mean less or bad. What it means in my mind is efficient. For the recipes, you can have a one-malt beer and you can have it be a super complex beer, because that malt has a lot of complex flavors to it. So instead of throwing in all sorts of these ingredients to a recipe and thinking it's going to be better, it most likely will end up being muddled … but if you can keep the recipes fairly simple, then you can allow the natural complexities of each ingredient to come out and really shine through.

I focus on that all the time in every recipe. Even the Imperial Stout. That's a big beer, but it's a simple recipe.

How does Minnesota help nurture brewers and what improvements can be made in policy, etc.?

I don't have really anything to complain about there, which is probably not a view I should say, but I'm going to. When you're under 250,000 barrels in this state, you don't pay excise tax. That really does help us out, because that allows us to keep building up, become a mature company, pay our bills before we have to get an extra burden. So, that's actually very helpful for us. Other things that have been helpful is the taproom law, but that's not new, that's what everyone's doing because it allows you to make a little bit better margin and start up more safely with less risk. That's been nice.

But what could be made better?

There are a couple cost things that come into that. Obviously, Sunday sales. I'm an advocate of Sunday sales, especially growlers in the taproom. That would help us out. Sunday sales in general, people are asking for it. More than 50 percent of Minnesotans want it. It doesn't make sense to not all it, especially when 37 other states allow it. Why fall behind? Why think that we're different from everybody else and it's not gonna work here? Of course it's gonna work here.

Another thing is that we distribute our own beer and have to pay a fee to get that license to distribute. We pay the exact same fee as actual distributors who distribute hundreds of products. We pay the exact same fee and we're only allowed to distribute our product, which limits us.

Obviously, in Minnesota, breweries are popping up everywhere. What's the situation like between breweries? It is filled with competition/rivalries, or is it a more friendly community?

Totally friendly. This is the fastest growing market in the country right now is the Twin Cities. We're not the most mature, but we're the fastest growing. And that means if I go and get a tap handle somewhere, that doesn't mean that I'm taking that tap handle from somebody else … the market itself is growing. So, that means that more people are entering that want the stuff and right now, typically, breweries can't make enough beer. And that's a really good thing right now.

Insight Brewing Company
(credit: CBS)

Can you tell me about your current beers and why you chose to offer them?

Our beers, in general, are about bringing the world of beer back to Minnesota. I've got to experience a lot of different places. There's still a lot more to go, which is part of our plan. I do actually get to travel and visit more places, learn about ingredients, work with other brewers.

The beers we got now are kind of a culmination of the beers that I've actually learned to brew.

Listen: Ilan Describes Some Beers

What would you suggest for a novice drinker?

It's hard to say because I've had a couple different beers for different beginners that have been very different beers. The easy answer to that is Lamb & Flag. That's a beer that's very palatable, non-offensive, easy to drink beer. That's what people drink in England and they're not that different from us.

But I have also met a few people that find our other beers so much better. My uncle, who only drinks Bud Light, but the other beer he drinks now is our Curiocity IPA. And that's the last beer I expected him to like …

A beer snob?

Our Gravity Well imperial stout. That's a really cool beer … very robust imperial stout … you get a lot of roasty chocolate, but then also dark fruity characters, which can come from caramelization process of boiling. We boil a bit longer than most people. It takes a lot of energy but makes a really good beer.

Lastly, why the name Insight?

Most regions around the world make beer and if they don't right now, they did in the past. But every region does it differently. Getting to actually go and experience how each place does it, there's more similarities than differences, but the differences are very unique when you go to these places. So, getting the insight to different regions around the world and seeing how beer is made, that's where the name comes from.

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Insight Brewing is located at 2821 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis. The taproom opens at 3 p.m. weekdays and 12 p.m. on Saturday/Sunday.

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