Our Bottlecraft North Park manager, Gene, selects his favorite beers of the week. You can stay up to date on our beer shop favorites through our news feed and also through our Instagram.

1. Pure Project | Fieldwork | Murkeley | Hazy Double IPA, 8.5%

   It is difficult to express how excited I am that this beer has hit distribution in cans for the first time. Originally brewed as a one-off in December 2017, it is a now-recurring collaboration between Pure Project here in San Diego and respected West Berkeley stalwart Fieldwork. The original name of the beer was “UC Murkeley”, with a beautiful depiction of the Campanile clock-tower on the University of California’s campus against a stark white background. As Berkeley is my hometown – I grew up just a mile from that iconic spire and cannot hear its resonant carillon tones without indelible nostalgia – this beer has a great deal of meaning to me. That it is a stellar example of the hazy double IPA is almost a bonus.

2. pFriem | Pilsner | Czech-Style Pilsner, 4.9%
   Even within the extraordinary beer landscape of Hood River, pFriem Family Brewers is a gem. Their labels are utilitarian and straightforward; the titles of the beers are simply lifted from the styles that they exhibit. Yet very few breweries can execute such a wide range thereof, from hops to lagers to sours to barrel-aged beers. pFriem Pilsner is a no-frills, grassy and all-around delightful pale lager, with clean cracker malt and a whiff of white grapes. Kegs tend to sell out instantly around San Diego, but thankfully the can-drops have been steadily increasing of late. A good beer for a good price!
    
3. Cascade | A Thousand Beers Between  | Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, 5.5%
   Cascade Brewing has distinguished itself for more than a decade and a half as the source of the finest barrel-aged sour beers in the Pacific Northwest. In recent years, they have transitioned away from 750mls towards smaller-format bottles and even cans! This has gone hand-in-glove with a consistent schedule of new releases, which run the gamut from variations on a theme to recipe debuts. A Thousand Beers Between is aged for up to two years in used wine-barrels with the local raspberries as well as the zest of tangerine – a tangy, acidic and altogether delicious sour ale.