In Milwaukee Record’s “Meet A Brewer” series, we aim to introduce you to some of the professionals behind the scenes who are responsible for making your favorite local beers. The recurring series continues with Perspective Brewing Company head brewer and co-owner Ben Naus.
Milwaukee Record: What’s your brewing background? What’s your path to where you are in your career today?
Ben Naus: I picked up home brewing as a summertime hobby while I was working as a high school science teacher. During an assembly at the school my brother and I worked at, we saw a speech by Kid President—a pep talk to get the teachers fired up for the school year. His talk about the importance of pursuing your dreams was so inspiring we left during our lunch break to upgrade the home brew system. I went from stove top and plastic buckets to stainless steel and conical fermenters. It quickly became a passion and something I wanted to learn as much as I could about.
My first leap towards making this my career was an internship my brother Dan and I did at Colorado Boy Brewery, where I brewed on a commercial system for the first time. It made me realize this was a dream I could turn into a reality. I love that the craft beer industry is something that is constantly evolving; there’s always ways to improve and more to learn.
MR: What’s your favorite style of beer to brew? And what’s your favorite to drink if you had to narrow it down to one or two?
BN: My favorite beer to brew is my hefeweizen. I have brewed hefeweizen more than any other style of beer. Over the last 15 years, I’ve spent many nights staying up late with my assistant brewer and wife, Ashley, home brewing hefeweizen after our kids were tucked into bed. I’m very grateful that today I can still brew beer with her and share our beer with our guests at Perspective. I love how refreshing our Travel Fee Hefeweizen is and how a beautiful pour can bring me back to those fun summer nights.
MR: Can you talk about some of your favorite local breweries? What are some of your favorites and why?
BN: 1840 is one of my favorite breweries here in the Milwaukee area. They always have a nice range of styles on their menu and a lot of barrel aged options with a nice tap room to enjoy them in. If I want an exceptional IPA, I’ll take a little road trip south to Hop Butcher just outside of Chicago. They are doing some great things over there and there are a lot of other good breweries in the area to check out while you’re there.
MR: Do you have any go-to macros?
BN: I love a nice cold tall boy of PBR or Hamm’s with some hot wings.
MR: If you were on a deserted island, what beers would you want to bring with you?
BN: This is a tough one but Topping Goliath’s King Sue and Sierra Nevada’s Barrel Aged Narwhal would be on the short list.
MR: Outside of brewing, what are some of your hobbies?
BN: Outside of brewing, I enjoy spending time with my family, coaching youth sports, running, and going to coffee shops for macchiatos with my wife.
MR: Do you have any favorite TV shows—either stuff you’re enjoying right now or comfort shows you can watch over and over?
BN: I’m not a big TV guy. I do enjoy listening to podcasts. Lex Friedman, Dissect, and Acquired are some of my favorites.
MR: Who are some of your favorite bands or musical artists in general?
BN: Modest Mouse, Avett Brothers, MF Doom, HOSTS, Talib Kweli, Action Bronson, and Trampled By Turtles to name a few.
MR: What are some of your favorite local bars and restaurants?
BN: Busby’s in Bay View is a great beer bar. The Stone is my favorite place for darts. And Limanski’s has some of the best wings in the area—my favorite is traditional grilled wings with Opa! dry rub and a side of XXX Hot Buffalo.
MR: What’s your favorite thing about Milwaukee?
BN: Milwaukee is the best city for craft beverages. My family and I road trip across the country and check out as many breweries and coffee shops as we can, and its tough to find any other city that compares when it comes to the quantity and quality of options we have right here in Milwaukee.
MR: If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you’d be doing for a living?
BN: If I weren’t brewing I would be pursuing another type of entrepreneurship. Owning and operating my own business has been one of the best changes I’ve made in my life.
MR: What’s your favorite holiday, and what makes you like it so much?
BN: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My wife goes all out with the cooking and having the leftovers is probably the best part. I also love getting together with all of my extended family.
MR: Do you have any short-term goals, long-term aspirations, or dreams in the realm of brewing, such as having your beer on draft somewhere special or having a specific person drink your beer?
BN: My short-term goal is to continue to add new beers to the menu. I am excited for our Black Friday release of Lactarius, a candy cap mushroom stout that has a great maple character without any addition of maple syrup. The Lactarius cans will feature original artwork by my brother Steve, who is our bar manager at Perspective. I hope we can continue to have fun, grow, and be creative with fun labels and unique flavors.
MR: Finish this sentence. Brewing in the Milwaukee area is…
BN: A privilege. I am so grateful every day to have the opportunity to be creative and do what I love for my job. The brewing community in the Milwaukee area is great. I have met and collaborated with several other local brewers and am really grateful for the mutual support that is shown amongst my peers in the industry.
