Show Notes
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 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 Follow us on Instagram: @berkeley_yeast Follow us on YouTube: @berkeleyyeast Music by El Flacco Collective #craftbeer #americanIPA #westcoastIPA #worldbeercup #greatamericanbeerfestival
More from How I Won This Medal
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 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
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 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 Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/berkeley_yeast Check us out on youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BerkeleyYeast
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.