diff --git a/beaker/util.py b/beaker/util.py
index fcb9912..aed597c 100644
--- a/beaker/util.py
+++ b/beaker/util.py
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ def loads(self, data_string):
         return pickle.loads(data_string)
 
     def dumps(self, data):
-        return pickle.dumps(data, 2)
+        return pickle.dumps(data, 2) if PY2 else pickle.dumps(data)
 
 
 class JsonSerializer(object):