Among the slew of new openings downtown is Insert Brewing Company. This follows the city’s efforts to revitalize the formerly economically depressed area in the western portion of the Heights housing projects (rebranded as the WHeights Arts District). Helmed by former engineering consultant turned brew-master Colt Rogers and his spouse, Aspen Kemper, they plan to bring, “a taste of the outdoors” to the downtown cityscape. “I’ve always been drawn to nature and the culture embodied by small mountain towns, so I want to reflect that in the design and aesthetic of the space,” says Rogers. After entering through the industrial-chic roll-up garage doors you come to the main bar, which is cut from a single piece of reclaimed beetle kill pine and is embedded with etchings of the duo’s favorite Thoreau quotes. The stools are a product of donations from friends and family, fashioned from old skis and spirit barrels. For the chilly season, the outside patio is replete with a series of gas-lit fire pits surrounded by Adirondack chairs.
I catch Rogers on a particularly hot afternoon, his untamed reddish beard beading with sweat as he carries sacks of grain to the mill. He remarks that although it isn’t at all practical, the beard is a symbol of rebellion after years of working in starched-collar offices. “You know, you plan your whole life around an idea that success will make you happy, then one day you realize that despite your six-figure salary, you’re just going through the motions of life, you know? I stopped shaving the day I quit, and here we are!” he chuckles. “I’m just like everyone else. I grew up in the suburbs with extremely supportive parents, got pretty good grades, and started work right out of grad school. But, sitting in those board meetings, all I could do was stare out the window from the top floor at the mountains on the horizon and dream of days like this where I could carry a fifty-pound bag of grain and finish the day with a crispy lager in the office. It’s such a privilege that I’m able to do this, and I owe it all to the hard work I’ve put in over the years to make this dream a reality. That, and my parents leveraging their life savings to get us up and going were what made this possible.”
Kemper, who is the former art director of a local marketing firm, plans on extending the outdoor theme to their future canning aspirations, with framed mock-up designs for their ‘Cloud Powder Hazy’ and ‘Conifer Well Water IPA’ on display behind the taps. Kemper also took advantage of driftwood collected from the river on her family’s multi-generational high desert farm, making tap handles out of her collected treasures. Kemper said it was also important to embody the spirit of the space in its decor. Before it was foreclosed on, the building housed the last Pentecostal Church in the area. “Luckily, some of the old pews were still in good enough condition to be salvaged for the game room,” says Kemper. A particularly clever touch is the draft menus, which are the upcycled covers of leather hymnals that were found in the church pews. “As a space that once served as the focal point of the community, we want to continue to foster that communal spirit, so to repurpose an item into something useful isn’t just practical, it feels great too,” she continues.
A lot of the initial success of Insert can be attributed to Kemper’s keen eye for design. In addition to the previously-mentioned striking can art that has garnered them a sizable social media following, she has also been actively promoting the brand through merchandise. “The whole naming around Insert came from the idea that we wanted this to be a really inclusive space, like, Insert your name here,” explains Kemper. To that end, she has designed apparel with the brewery’s logo and branding, including mesh trucker hats, puffy vests, hoodies, and pet bandanas and leashes. “These are products that people can wear that say, ‘I’m here to support not just this brewery, but this local community’”, explains Kemper. “Of course, though, like any retail brand, we have a lot of overstocks and don’t want to contribute even further to an industry that produces so much waste. To offset any overproduction we donate most of our leftover merchandise to the community. We were honestly surprised but also humbled by the number of people, many of whom were former residents of the area, lining up for the monthly donations. Apparently, we have fans from young kids to seniors!” exclaims Kemper.
A brand can’t survive on hype alone though and the core lineup of beers currently consists of a wide range of classic offerings, from juicy New England IPAs to fruity Smoothie Sours. Rogers says there will always be a rotating lager on-hand as well. “At the end of your shift you just want something refreshing, you know? It’s not a secret that our go-to beer after work is a macro-lager. I know that’s not what you’d typically expect from a craft brewer, but nothing hits the spot like a well-made lager,” opines Rogers. For their lagers, Rogers says they use only the best German-sourced malts. “You really can’t get that true Bohemian flavor unless you source the best quality materials,” Rogers said. He continues, “The lagers are particularly special as that style of beer is also the favorite of the owner of the building who rents us this space. So, by supporting us you’re supporting him, and I think if there’s something we can all agree on, it’s that buying local is always better.”
Rogers credits the local water source as another contributor to producing well-made beers. “All great brewing meccas are near great water sources, and we’re no different,” says Rogers. “We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure we’re utilizing the best ingredients we can, which is why early on we made sure to invest in a reverse osmosis system. It takes the amazing water we already have, and then strips it of all impurities and minerals so we can add whatever salts are necessary based on the target profile.” The proof of their process is in the hardware they’ve garnered in the past year. Among the three international, eight nationals, and fourteen city competitions they’ve entered, they’ve walked away with no less than four medals, one of which was gold for Barrel Aged IBS (Irish Breakfast Stout). The beer is a variation on their high-octane breakfast stout that spends several months in a whiskey barrel, but with the additions of traditional Irish breakfast ingredients, including soda bread in the mash and black pudding in the boil (also known as blood pudding). “Brewers take advantage of all tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, and sour, so why not see if we can extract some umami?” explained Rogers. “It was a bear getting that one through the regulators, but it was worth it. I guess you could even say the proof is in the pudding!”
Their fruited sours have already turned some heads when earlier this year they released a collaboration with neighboring Collusion Brewing. Rogers said of the collaboration, in which they used fruits locally sourced in the state only some six hundred miles away, “We wanted to capture the essence of the fruit at its peak ripeness, that way as soon as you open the can it’s literally bursting with flavor. To achieve this we incorporated a strict eight-to-one ratio of fruit puree to the base beer, crashed-cooled at packaging, then let it maturate in an over-heated warehouse to let the yeast do its thing.” Of the beers that made it to consumers before causing extensive shrapnel damage across the tri-state area, they received widespread acclaim, quickly making it to the top of several crowd-sourced website lists. “This is an industry where you sometimes need to make some noise to be heard, so that was a boon for us, all lawsuits aside,” says Rogers.
The brewery is also working on some special offerings shortly. In an homage to the district’s heritage as a former center for jazz, Rogers will release a series of beers inspired by the musicians and people that used to inhabit the area. “It was important for us to pay respects to those who were here before us, so what better way to do that than with a limited series of mixed-fermentation beers available only to our exclusive group of subscription-based bottle members,” says Rogers. “We were able to harvest some wild yeast from the field adjacent to the now-abandoned Center for Performing Arts along MLK Avenue,” giving our next release a real flavor for the area. Proceeds from a portion of the sales of the beers from this series will go to fund Paw Prints, a local charity that pairs emotional support animals with artists. “As an artist myself, I know what the struggle is like for those who can’t support themselves on derivative art alone, and having a friend to share in that struggle can make all the difference in the world. And to earn money off a formerly misrepresented community and put those funds into the hands of those who need it makes it all that much more satisfying,” adds Kemper.
Asked how other businesses have reacted to the opening, Rogers says, “the support from WHeights has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re already planning on hosting beer pairings with the local creamery, coupled with goat yoga on the patio with their ewes. We want to offer something for everyone.” A look at the brewery’s Instagram provides a glimpse of other future events, including a rotation of popular food carts ranging from Beaux Thai, which serves Thai-inspired Cajun po’ boys, and Kosher Ham, which specializes in vegan charcuterie.
Even if you can’t make it to the WHeights location, don’t fret, the team already has plans for expansion. They are currently leasing a space just outside of town in the neighboring suburbs to house a production space. The plan is to get an adjacent taproom up by the end of the season. “It’s crazy, we’re already selling out of beer and we haven’t even opened the doors yet, it makes no sense!” says Kemper.