Homebrew Summer: Clever Kiwi
Burgeon Beer Co.'s head brewer shares a homebrew recipe for his Carlsbad op's popular Nelson Sauvin-hopped New Zealand-style Pilsner
With this post, the 2026 edition of Homebrew Summer is official on! An occasion like that calls for a special beer; something critically acclaimed by both beer-drinkers and beer judges. And we’ve got just thing thanks to our friends at Burgeon Beer Co. That Carlsbad-based company is well known for making crystal-clear San Diego-style IPAs, opaque hazies and a variety of crisp, clean lagers. When asked what sort of recipe he’d like to provide a homebrew-scaled version of, Burgeon Head Brewer Anthony Tallman went with the latter, selecting a Nelson-hopped Pilsner. Dubbed Clever Kiwi, that beer has been a cult hit for Burgeon, while netting it gold medals at a trio of California-based brewing competitions. And did we mention it’s hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops? “Special” status confirmed.
This is one of over 20 beers we’ll be sharing recipes for throughout the summer, so be sure to check back with us often. Or, if you prefer, you can sign up for our email newsletter, and we’ll send all of the recipes directly to your inbox. Cheers to homebrewing and another fun Homebrew Summer!
Anthony Tallman
Co-founder & Head Brewer, Burgeon Beer Co.
We chose to share Clever Kiwi because we’ve always felt this beer was super unique and never truly fit into a specific style guideline. We feel like we were early to the scene regarding New Zealand-style Pilsners ‒ I guess that’s what we’re calling it. Over the years for competitions we always entered it into the session-beer category because it just didn’t really fit anywhere else, and it has performed quite well there for us. For the most part the beer has remained the same, with some yeast changes over the years. Be sure to focus on a healthy yeast pitch, clean fermentation, removal of as much yeast as possible prior to dry-hopping and enjoying a crisp pint on a nice summer day!
Burgeon Beer Co.’s taprooms are located at 6350 Yarrow Drive in Carlsbad, 501 South Santa Fe Avenue in Vista, 649 Rock Springs Road in Escondido and 1326 Kettner Boulevard in downtown San Diego