Beer #1 - Kirsch Weisse, Sour Cherry Berliner. Right away based on the name, we know what we are getting into. In German, kirsche is cherry, weisse is wheat, and Berliner means from Berlin. The Berliner Weisse is a very old style of beer with roots dating back to the 1600's. It is also the beer style which is often referred to as the most refreshing beer in the world and one that Napoleon called 'Champagne of the North". Today, this beer style is brewed with Lactobacillus yeast which provides the sour quality, and in the case of BOK's version, a lactic yeast from Guelph, Ontario. Years ago however, that wasn't the case. Instead, due to a brewing technique which included not boiling the wort, lactic bacteria (found in the malt) and other heat resistant organisms would survive, and provide an acidic and sour quality to the beer. Back to modern times, and here at BOK, we are glad brewing procedures have advanced. We really enjoyed this take that was super refreshing, lightly acidic and featuring enjoyable tart notes of cherry pie or pastry. Zach also let us know the cherries are fermented in house and a little touch of smoked malt is used. This was a very tasty beer and we are picking it as our Beer of the Week. 

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#2 Drop the Beet- Belgian Tripel. Made with golden beet sugar, this sneaky 7.5% ABV Belgian was amazing, despite not being made in a Monastery. Historically, and by definition, a Belgian Tripel is considered a 'Trappist' beer, which is a protected appellation, and which means it can only be called Trappist if it is made in the monastery. We don't recall seeing any monks, but we will let this one slide for the sake of sampling a famous style. Tripels can be considered a strong, pale, somewhat spicy ale with a pleasant rounded malt flavor, firm bitterness, and dry finish. They are nicely aromatic, with spicy, fruity, and 'light' alcohol notes that combine with the supportive clean malt character to produce a surprisingly drinkable beverage considering the high alcohol content.  Here the use of noble hops and winter spices worked amazingly well together and this beer left us wanting a full pint. 

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#3 Dark Vader- Dark IPA. A Dark IPA is exactly what it sounds like. An IPA,  but with darker malts. These malts not only bring the colour to beer, but also more roasted/toasty/caramel and even chocolate or coffee notes. Here the use of a malt that has been de-husked/de-bittered removes any astringency that is common with dark malts. This resulted in a very smooth malty sweetness with a coffee and roast backbone. The use of southern hemisphere hops adds a nice tropical punch to the beer, making sure you know it is still an IPA.