OAK KING

THE LEGEND

In Celtic mythology, the wheel of the year turns on an eternal battle between two brothers: the Oak King and the Holly King. At the winter solstice, the Oak King defeats his dark twin and rules the waxing half of the year, presiding over growth, warmth, and abundance. At midsummer, the Holly King reclaims the throne and ushers in the decline toward winter.

The Oak King is not merely a seasonal figure. He embodies the principle that light must fight to exist. That warmth is not given freely but won through struggle. In the groves of Britain, Gaul, and Ireland, the oak was the most sacred of trees, its wood burned in midsummer bonfires, its branches carved into protective charms. Druids took their very name from the oak: "dru-wid," the oak-knower.

To brew a beer called Oak King is to brew something that represents the peak of vitality. This India Pale Ale channels that summer sovereignty through waves of pineapple, passionfruit, and orange, resinous and tropical, coursing with the energy of sap rising through ancient wood. Bold, aromatic, and unyielding, it is a beer that rules its glass the way the Oak King rules the bright half of the year.

The crown will pass eventually. It always does. But while the Oak King reigns, every sip is sunlight.