08/21/2026
Hey everyone, Paul here. I wanted to take a moment to celebrate our Head Brewer and longtime Cinderlander, Jamie “Wildcat” Lesh, as he prepares to trade Pittsburgh for a new adventure.
Wildcat’s story at Cinderlands actually started on the delivery van, meandered to the business end of the bar, and ultimately led to steering the brewing and fermentation ship. Anyone who has worked with Jamie will recognize his killer palate, knack for recipe development, deep knowledge across modern and classix beverage, and genuine curiosity for how they’re all made.
That curiosity and skill has left an indelible mark on countless beers—and on Cinderlands as a whole—along the way.
Wildcat has been an important part of the evolution of our beer program, helping us refine old favorites, dream up new ones, and continue pushing ourselves to make better beer. We’re incredibly grateful for the years, hard work, creativity, laughs and, of course, Underbergs he’s shared with us.
While we’re sad to see Wildcat go, we’re excited for what’s ahead for him—and equally excited to introduce the person stepping up to lead our brewing program into its next chapter: Nina Santiago.
Nina is no stranger to Cinderlands or our brewhouse. Since joining the production team in 2024, she’s proven herself to be a thoughtful, talented brewer with a strong attention to detail and plenty of ideas about where we can take things next. We couldn’t be happier to have her step into the role of Head Brewer.
There’s something pretty special about being able to pass the torch from one talented brewer to another from within our own crew. Wildcat helped shape a big part of what Cinderlands beer is today, and now Nina gets the opportunity to build on that foundation and make her own mark on what comes next.
So raise a glass to Wildcat and wish him well on his next adventure—and raise another to Nina as she takes the reins.
Thanks for everything, Wildcat. Go get ’em, Nina. 🍻🥲🎉
