THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1761
Issue #1761 – Posted on: 28 – Oct – 2024
BUSHWAKKER SEASONAL SUDS STATUS. Bushwakker head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available GREAT PUMPKIN SPICED BROWN ALE, POWERHOUSE PORTER, TREPHINATION IMPERIAL IPA, LEMON RASPBERRY ALE and BREW & GOLD DORTMUNTER EXPORT LAGER are currently available. There are also batches of KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, DOUBLE HONEY RED ALE, 30th ANNIVERSARY BLACKBERRY MEAD and MORK’S MEAD (our very first mead) currently working their way through the brewery.
It’s hard to believe three decades have whipped by and we are only six weeks away from the 30th Anniversary Release of our Blackberry Mead. This year’s batch of honey nectar will be just as delicious as ever! We have a couple of other special mead releases to mark the occasion. Much thanks to local beer label master collector, Bert Barkwell, for his input into this year’s special label design. Anyone know what the pearl necklace symbolizes? Let’s keep it clean folks!
Last weekend excited scotch fans started lining up over an hour before tickets to our annual Single Malt Scotch Tasting event went on sale. We still have a limited number of tickets remaining. Don’t miss your chance to get tickets to one of the most delicious Single Malt Scotch Tasting events in our 33-year history! A number of this year’s featured whiskies are brand new or one-time releases including; LAGAVULIN 11 YEAR OFFERMAN EDITION #3 CARIBBEAN RUM CASK, ARDBEG HEAVY VAPOURS, TOMINTOUL CIGAR MALT, ROSEISLE 12 YEAR NATURAL CASK STRENGTH, ISLE OF HARRIS – THE HEARACH and LISMORE 15 YEAR! The scotch tasting will take place on Saturday, November 16th. Entertainment includes performances from The Regina Police Services Pipes & Drums and The Regina Highland Dance Association. Plenty of door prizes to be given away too. Stop by or give us a call at 306-359-7276 to secure your seat today!
Bushwakker 34th Single Malt Scotch Tasting Dinner Offering (regular menu also available)
Starter: Scotch Poached Pears with bleu cheese, walnuts, arugula, spinach and lettuce salad in a balsamic honey vinaigrette.
Or
Roasted Pumpkin Soup with a scotch crème fraiche, maple candied pumpkin seeds and a house-made crouton.
Main: Laphroaig Smoked Prime Rib with jumbo Yorkshire pudding, apple mashed potatoes and Chef’s select vegetables.
Desserts: Glenmorangie Sticky Toffee Pudding or Raspberry, Honey Oat Crumble & Whisky Caramel Cranachan Cheesecake.
This WEEKEND’S SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for Oct. 25th & 26th is a HEARTY BEEF STEW WITH BANNOCK BREAD. On Saturday we will also offer our gourmet STAMPEDERS BURGER & A PINT game day special. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL as well as our Monday and Wednesday WINGS & A PINT SPECIAL and Tuesday PIZZA & A PINT SPECIAL are also great value deals.
Our SASK CRAFT GUEST TAP is currently pouring the SEASON OF THE WITCH NEIPA from Malty National Brewing. A GERMAN HEFFEWEIZEN from District Brewing is waiting on deck.
OCTOBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: This month’s juicy and delicious wine features are new to the province. ESPORAO wines from Portugal! The red is a PE TINTO. The white is a PE BRANCO. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
UPCOMING BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
Oct. 26: SASK VS. CALGARY. With the recent clinching of a home playoff game, football fever is at an all-time high! Kickoff is at 5:00 PM so stop by before or after the game. Come park your vehicle in the massive free parking lot just east across the street, enjoy our gourmet game day STAMPEDERS BURGER & A PINT Special and then grab a free shuttle to the stadium. Come “devour” the competition!
Oct. 28: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. U OF R JAZZ BAND. Come hear Regina’s future jazz stars! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Oct. 30: Wednesday Folk Night. SHY. Acoustic trio featuring Dale Sauer, Terri Hamilton and Otis Young deliver original folk tunes. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Nov. 1: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY. Enjoy the pomp and circumstance of this longstanding Bushwakker monthly tradition! A piper from The Regina Police Services Pipes & Drums leads a keg (the firkin) of special ale throughout the pub in a procession. A guest volunteer tapper is selected to wield the handmade wooden maul affectionately named, The Mighty Firkin Wakker, and attempts to tap the keg in one mighty blow! The November firkin offering is a CHOCOLATE – INFUSED PALLISER PORTER. The suds-soaking spectacular takes place at 5:30 PM.
‘Anchor to the city’: Navy warship named after Regina celebrates 30 years at sea
Memorabilia from the HMCS Regina in Bushwakker Brewpub in Regina. (Gareth Dillistone/CTV News)
Donovan Maess – CTV News Regina Oct. 21, 2024
The HMCS Regina is celebrating 30 years of service in the Royal Canadian Navy.
“The Canadian Navy naming tradition is based on geography,” said Executive Officer Lt.-Cmdr. Scott Dyson. “By choosing city names for the patrol frigates it allows us to create connections with the larger cities in all of our provinces.”
The first HMCS Regina sailed during the Second World War. The Navy says it was torpedoed and sunk off Trevose Head, Cornwall while serving as an escort in the English Channel in August of 1944. Thirty of its crew were lost.
The current Halifax-class frigate was commissioned Sept. 30, 1994 before setting sail for the first time in spring 1995. Being deployed several times to various missions from Vietnam to the Arabian Gulf.
In 2005, she was awarded the Saskatchewan Centennial Commemorative Medal from the Lieutenant Governor as recognition for her outstanding contribution made towards the promotion of the City of Regina and the province of Saskatchewan, both in Canada and abroad.
Crew members held a birthday celebration last week while attending Fleet Week in San Francisco, Calif.
Activities included the cutting of a cake with the familiar Saskatchewan Roughriders’ logo with a traditional Navy sword.
“It’s important we recognize the people who came before us,” Lt.-Cmdr. Dyson said. “I really work hard with the crew to maintain our history and legacy.”
“It’s very special,” he added.
Hometown connections
Throughout its 30 years of service, the HMCS Regina has maintained a strong connection with its namesake.
Aboard the vessel, the main passageways are named after city streets found in the Queen City. Including Regina Avenue, Dewdney Avenue, College Avenue and more.
And, just as is in Regina, there is a strong presence of the RCMP.
“If you look around, you’ll see a lot of RCMP regalia,” Dyson explained. “There’s a big connection in that way.”
Even more special is the name donned on the ship’s mess.
“It’s unofficially named Bushwakker,” Dyson said.
That strong connection is felt in city as well.
Started by late brewery founder Bev Robertson, Bushwakker Brewpub has a tight-knit relationship with the ship and its crew.
“Anybody from Saskatchewan has a natural connection with the Navy,” said Bar Manager Grant Frew. “They say, ‘Prairie people make the best sailors.’”
The pub is the go-to spot for the crew when they are able to make the trip to Regina.
And when the ship is at sea, the beer on tap is of course, Bushwakker brewed. The connection has been solidified with the Bushwakker façade logo on the door on HMCS Regina’s mess door.
HMCS Regina’s junior Rank’s mess door adorned with the Bushwakker logo. (Courtesy: Royal Canadian Navy)
“They’ve affectionately referred to Bushwakker Regina as ‘Bushwakker East’ and the vessel as ‘Bushwakker West,” Frew joked. “It’s really nice to see that piece of our pub being on the ship all the time, everywhere they go.”
And of course, the crew bleeds Green and White.
Dyson, who is from Montreal, even married a Saskatchewan girl, meeting her in Regina while he was Executive Officer of the HMCS Queen.
They had their wedding rehearsal dinner at Bushwakker.
“She claims I’m from Saskatchewan by adoption,” Dyson said. “It held build that sort of family and anchor to the city.”
“It’s not just Bushwakker, but all the other things on the ship as well does a lot,” he added.
The ship in Regina
With Regina being a landlocked city, the ship has never sailed anywhere close to its namesake.
But you can find a small piece of it in the city.
A model of the Second World War vessel sits in the lobby of City Hall.
“It is something we’re really proud of,” Mayor Sandra Masters told CTV News. “It is something the city can have a tie into that area of the military and we’re super glad.”
The HMCS Regina continues to participate in exercises and training on the Pacific Ocean.
Lt.-Cmdr. Dyson hoped crew could make their return to the Queen City and maybe even a Rider game in the near future.
The crew of the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Regina (334) in San Fransisco, Calif. celebrating the ship’s 30th anniversary. (Submitted)
TIME OUT – A Final Pumpkin Pit Stop
What’s the pumpkin’s favorite Western?
The Gourd, The Bad, and The Ugly
What did the queasy pumpkin say?
I don’t feel so gourd.
What is black, white, orange, and waddles?
A penguin with a pumpkin.
Why do jack-o-lanterns sit on people’s porches?
They don’t have the guts to knock on the door.
Our “SMOKEY THE BEER” converted beer tank smoker will soon face its ultimate smoking challenge! Never before has it been used to smoke prime rib, let alone a Laphroaig single malt scotch prime rib. Get ready folks because our upcoming annual Single Malt Scotch Tasting Dinner offering is going to be one for the taste buds history books!
