Northside Hospital-born Atlanta native Pat Leonard grew up in the Chamblee Tucker area. Previously a macrobeer drinker like many (all?) of us, Leonard broke his craft beer seal with a Sierra Nevada pale ale at Virginia Highlands own Murphy's restaurant circa 2003. The "craft beer" craze as we know it had far from started—Sweetwater, then just three years old, was a diamond in the rough at the time. Seeking to brew the styles he didn't have access to in Georgia, Leonard started homebrewing with his roommate around the same time, focusing on west coast style IPAs.
When Josh, a Brew Depot employee and acquaintance of Leonard, hired him as the first employee (and future head brewer) at Jekyll Brewing, he was excited to be involved. Not long after, GCSU college buddy Brian Borngesser began to visit Leonard at work, stoked on plans for a dream brewery of his own. Gate City opened after Leonard left Jekyll, at which point he joined the small team part-time to help Roswell's first craft brewery build and maintain its production procedures.
Attracted to Gate City's broad taplist and the creative freedom it affords him, Leonard is to thank for some of its best-loved brews, including Awe Juice, Awe Deuce, Equatorial, Dream Warrior, and the Kolsch-style. He collaborated with Pat Rains and his brew team on many others, including OTP, the Hop Project series, and now retired India Brown. When he isn't brewing or drawing beloved brewcats, Leonard loves spending time with his boys Tex (7) and Tuck (6), hiking with his wife Holly, and renovating his home.
Amended to add that this bio is far more formal and less fun than Nat Leopard himself, as anyone who knows him can confirm.