Cellarmaker cofounder and Berkeley Yeast brand ambassador Tim Sciascia sits down with brewers to discuss how they create their award winning competition entries. Listen along as Tim discusses style guidelines, recipe formulation, cellar processes, packaging and much more.
Produced, written, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia.
Carey Jonker of Transmission Brewing Co: Light Lager Precision
Do you like the lighter side of lagers? Then this is the pod for you.
If you don't know Transmission Brewing Company, it's time to start paying them attention. Brewer/owner Carey Jonker has been collecting medals for several years now. Since 2022 Transmission has won 4 World Beer Cup and 6 GABF medals.
Four of those medals are for his American-Style Light Lager Transmission Light. In this episode Tim and Carey pick apart the recipe and processes that go into creating this decorated beer. If you'd like to read the Transmission Light recipe as the two discuss then click the link below.
Carey also tells Tim about Clutch, Transmission's Munich-Style Helles, which won gold at the World Beer Cup in 2024.
Transmission Light recipe (https://www.berkeleyyeast.com/recipes/transmission-light-lager-transmission-brewing?utm_source=transmission-podcast&utm_medium=podcast-show-notes&utm_campaign=transmission-light-recipe)
Check Out Our Website (https://www.berkeleyyeast.com?utm_source=transmission-podcast&utm_medium=podcast-show-notes&utm_campaign=check-out-our-website)
How I Won This Medal is a Berkeley Yeast Podcast
Written, produced, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia
Artwork by Amos McCray
Follow us on Instagram: @berkeley_yeast
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @berkeleyyeast
Music by El Flacco Collective
#Craftbeer #AmericanLightLager #TransmissionBrewing
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction02:00 Welcome Carey and the medal rundown03:45 Carey's path into brewing05:30 Falling for lagers and the German brewhouse trip09:00 Touring Transmission and self-distribution11:35 The story behind Transmission Light18:10 American-Style Light Lager style guidelines19:50 Water: Ventura city water and RO blending23:40 Grist: switching to jasmine rice25:30 Cereal mash and step mash schedule28:50 Lautering, sparging and high-gravity brewing32:40 75-minute boil and hop sourcing37:30 Knockout, zinc and oxygenation40:00 Fermentation, Fresh Andex and pitch rates45:50 Soft crash, lagering and carbonation49:30 Foam and a 1.6 g carb light lager51:30 Clarity: centrifuge, no finings53:30 Packaging competition entries56:00 Medals and judges' feedback59:50 Clutch: Munich-Style Helles and decoction1:04:00 Fighting hot side aeration with nitrogen1:08:30 Clutch hops and fermentation1:10:30 Managing sulfur and blow-off tricks1:14:45 Wrap-up: visiting Transmission1:16:50 Outro and Berkeley Yeast links
23 Oct 2026
Conor Brown of Offset Bier Co: Meet the Session IPA Master
Session IPA, small IPA, or L(ie)PA—whatever you call it, Conor Brown of Offset Bier Co. is a master of brewing it. In this episode, Berkeley Yeast brand ambassador Tim Sciascia heads to Park City, Utah, to talk with Conor about his GABF gold medal–winning Oros and Divi, from 2025 and 2024, respectively. We recorded just before the 2026 GABF, where Offset took gold (Divi, again!) and silver (Dopo) in Session IPA, plus a silver for Neon Lady in the Collaboration category.
Learn how Conor builds texture and body in low-ABV beers, his thoughts on hop choice, the importance of step mashing, and much more.
Want to read the recipe for Oros as we walk through the creation process? Just click the link below.
Oros recipe (https://www.berkeleyyeast.com/recipes/oros-session-ipa-offset-bier?utm_source=podcast-platforms&utm_medium=link-in-show-notes&utm_campaign=oros-recipe&utm_id=Offset+Pod)
Check out our website (Check-out-our-website)
How I Won This Medal is a Berkeley Yeast Podcast
Written, produced, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia
Artwork by Amos McCray
Follow us on Instagram: @berkeley_yeast
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @berkeleyyeast
Music by El Flacco Collective
#craftbeer #sessionIPA #greatamericanbeerfestival
14 Oct 2026
Brian Hutchinson of Cannonball Creek Brewing: The World's Best West Coast IPA
Tim and ISM's Gene Wagoner sit down with Brian Hutchinson, cofounder and head brewer at Cannonball Creek Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado. The three brewers discuss the 2026 World Beer Cup gold medal-winning West Coast IPA Project Alpha 81.
Want to read the recipe as the group picks it apart? Then click the link below.
The crew at Cannonball just came away with even more hardware at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival winning three medals and being named Brewery of the Year for the second year in a row.
Project Alpha 81 recipe: https://bit.ly/4hzk9Lq (https://bit.ly/4hzk9Lq)
How I Won This Medal is a Berkeley Yeast Podcast
Written, produced, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia
Artwork by Amos McCray
Check out our website (https://berkeleyyeast.com/?utm_source=podcast_platforms&utm_medium=link-in-show-notes&utm_campaign=ISM-Pod&utm_id=ISM+Pod)
Follow us on Instagram: @berkeley_yeast
Follow us on YouTube: @berkeleyyeast
Music by El Flacco Collective
#craftbeer #americanIPA #westcoastIPA #worldbeercup #greatamericanbeerfestival
2 Oct 2026
Gene Wagoner of ISM Brewing: Taking Gold for American IPA and Silver for New Zealand IPA
Gene Wagoner, head brewer of ISM Brewing, joins Tim to talk about how he creates his award winning recipes. Click the link below to take you to the recipe for the 2026 World Beer Cup gold medal winning Immutable Dawn IPA. Follow along as Gene tells Tim how he levels up the recipe for the competition. Tim and Gene also dive into Chepadelic IPA, which took silver for New Zealand IPA.
Link: Immutable Dawn recipe (https://berkeleyyeast.com/blogs/resources/recipe-immutable-dawn-ipa-world-beer-cup-version-ism-brewing?_pos=1&_psq=immutable&_psid=b43fb2193&_ss=e&utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=link-in-show-notes&utm_campaign=Immutable_Dawn_Recipe&utm_id=ISM+Pod)
How I Won This Medal is a Berkeley Yeast Podcast
Written, produced, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia
Artwork by Amos McCray
Check out our website (https://berkeleyyeast.com/?utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=link-in-show-notes&utm_campaign=ISM_Pod&utm_id=ISM+Pod)
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/berkeley_yeast (https://www.instagram.com/berkeley_yeast)
Check us out on youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BerkeleyYeast (https://www.youtube.com/@BerkeleyYeast)
16 Sept 2026
Steve Luke: Judging Classic American IPA
Cloudburst Brewing founder and brewmaster Steve Luke joins Tim to share his perspective on judging the Classic IPA final table at the 2026 World Beer Cup. They discuss how the judging process differs between the early rounds and the final medal round before exploring the nuanced distinction between the Classic American IPA and West Coast IPA styles. With Shred Beer Co., North Park Beer Co., and ISM Brewing taking the top three spots in American IPA, Steve and Tim consider what those beers reveal about the direction of the style.
Click here to learn more about Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=link-in-show-notes&utm_campaign=Steve_Luke_Pod&utm_id=Steve+Luke+Pod)
How I Won This Medal is a Berkeley Yeast Podcast
Written, produced, recorded and edited by Tim Sciascia
Artwork by Amos McCray
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/berkeley_yeast/
Check us out on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BerkeleyYeast
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