Call Cody Leano an accomplished newcomer.
Since purchasing a home brewing kit about a decade ago, he rose through the ranks at Alvarado Street Brewery and then helped open Hops and Fog Brewing Company, taking on the pub’s brewing responsibilities. Now he serves as head brewer for Peter B’s, Monterey’s most established craft brewery.
And Leano only managed two batches from his home set up before making beer his career.
“Brewing is the same, it’s just different equipment,” he says, pointing out that craft brewers are constantly learning. New hops reach the market every year, opening up flavor possibilities. Traditional styles or techniques are revived. And at a pub like Peter B’s, which will turn 30 this year, there are recipes for favorite beers to master.
“The amber is a good one to brew first,” he says. “The recipe is already set.”
It is also fitting that the first beer Leano brewed for Peter B’s is an amber ale. The first homebrew batch was an amber. But he is following up quickly with a kolsch and a West Coast IPA.
“I love IPAs—the different hop combinations,” he points out.
That said, Leano adds that he looks forward to brewing a lager, which requires more time than ales. During his stint at Pacific Grove’s Hops and Fog, with its more compact tanks, Leano says he was often forced to scramble to keep pace with demand. “Now I have the opportunity to do that.”
Leano is versed in the other demands of a restaurant or brewpub. He has been a busser and server in Monterey establishments. It was a German-style dark beer from Alvarado Street that inspired his vocation.
“I thought it was the best beer I ever tasted,” he recalls. A few days later, Leano was tinkering with his new home brewing equipment.
Leano takes over for Natalie Mika, who gained acclaim for her beers since taking over as head brewer at Peter B’s in 2019, after a career in fine wine. He had just a few days to learn the operation from her perspective before she left.
But Leano knows what is expected. “I thought it was a great opportunity,” he says. “The first craft brewery in Monterey.”