Gene’s Picks! Every week, Gene handpicks three new beers for you to explore. Dive into this week’s selections and discover a new favorite.

1) Burgeon – DDH Treevana
West Coast IPA, 7.2%

The flagship West Coast IPA Treevana by Burgeon has become a beloved staple around greater San Diego area, dependable and delicious. If that ineffable combination of Amarillo and Mosaic appeals to you, then why not the same but more so? A special double dry-hopped edition has joined us for the first days of summer, intensifying the aromatic character of the beer. Enjoy now, at the peak of freshness!

2) Gold Dot – Pils de Pils
German Pilsner, 5.1%

The Prost! Bitburger Challenge, a friendly competition that has taken place just twice (in 2019 and again earlier this month), invites a dozen breweries to proffer an original German Pilsner recipe for consideration. Both the lucky attendees of the concomitant lager-fest that sprang up in Portland a few weeks ago as well as the judges on hand tasted all twelve submissions blind, with no foreknowledge as to which contender brewed which beer. Beyond bragging rights or modest acceptance, the winner receives a trip to Bitburg (the eponymous wellspring of Bitburger beer), located near the border with Luxembourg. By now, readers may have guessed that Pils de Pils by Gold Dot took home the grand prize – and they would be right! Congratulations to Lisa and Kevin – we wish them a wonderful time in Germany. Prost!

3) Cervejaria Japas – Sawā Plum
Fruited Sour, 4.7%

It may or may not come as a surprise to learn that the single largest Japanese diaspora is located neither in Los Angeles nor London, but rather São Paolo. Brazil as a whole easily hosts the greatest number of Nikkei (persons of Japanese heritage living outside of the Home Islands) of any country on earth. Three women from this sprawling, multifaceted community have formed a brewery emphasizing both their Brazilian identity as well as their ancestral roots. Reclaiming the hitherto somewhat pejorative term Japas for the name of their Cervejaria (the word in Portuguese will be instantly recognizable to readers of Spanish, analogous to Cervecería), the triumvirate of Maira, Yumi and Fernanda are drawing attention well outside of South America. Their Sawā series rotates various tree-fruits through a tart ale base, with gorgeous artistic impressions of each one imprinted on the label – this iteration showcases plums. Saúde / Kanpai!

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