THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1768
Issue #1768 – Posted on: 13 – Dec – 2024
BUSHWAKKER SEASONAL SUDS STATUS. Bushwakker head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available 30TH ANNIVERSARY BLACKBERRY MEAD, MORK’S MEAD, POWERHOUSE PORTER, TREPHINATION IMPERIAL IPA and BREW & GOLD DORTMUNTER EXPORT LAGER are currently available. There are also batches of MISSILETOW CHRISTMAS ALE, PICKARD’S OATMEAL CREAM STOUT, KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, JUST CHERRY ALE and DOUBLE HONEY RED ALE currently working their way through the brewery.
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the Bushwakker fan on your list? You can’t go wrong with a Bushwakker gift card available in $25, $50, $100 and $200 denominations. A mead enthusiast would adore one of our 30th Anniversary Mead t-shirts featuring our founder’s lovable cross-eyed cat, Mork! A Bushwakker Christmas Mixed Six-Pack featuring three Bushwakker meads, a Missiletow Christmas Ale, a Powerhouse Porter with a bottle of Kai’s Munich Helles would also be a great gift for sharing around the Christmas tree. Visit our website at https://bushwakker.com/
What a great 30th ANNIVERSARY BLACKBERRY MEAD RELEASE we experienced last Saturday! So many people sharing so many mead memories. Thank you for celebrating three decades of honey nectar with us. Blackberry Mead and Mork’s Mead are both on tap and in our offsale.
This MEAD WEEKEND’S SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for Dec. 13th & 14th is CIOPPINO (Fisherman’s Stew). 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.
DECEMBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: This month’s wine features are the RAVEN CONSPIRACY wines from British Columbia. The red is the DEEP DARK RED and the white is the SMOOTH BRIGHT WHITE. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
Last week’s edition of First Firkin Friday was one of the most fun and festive to date. Young Ryan did old St. Nick proud by delivering a very well executed firkin tapping. Good thing too because the firkin of Kraken Black Spiced Rum – Infused “Missile”tow Christmas Ale was absolutely delicious. Our “Missile”tow English Barleywine Christmas Ale will come on tap Saturday, December 14th as will bottles in our offsale too.
The Bushwakker LOCAL ARTIST WALL for the month of December features ALEX BEITZ. Alex is a local visual artist who works in a variety of medium and subjects, with humour being a key element in his most recent works. He obtained his art education by taking many classes at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts centre and participation with various art guilds. Alex is pleased to be returning to the local Artists Wall at Bushwakker.
Whole Bushwakker Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pies are back once again for Christmas. Supplies are limited so order early to avoid disappointment. Visit https://bushwakker.com/product/kentucky-bourbon-pecan-pie/ to order yours today and take your holiday spread to the next level!
UPCOMING BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
Dec. 14: ANNUAL “MISSILE”TOW CHRISTMAS ALE & CHRISTMAS MIXED SIX-PACKS RELEASE. Our complex and warming English Barleywine is back and our popular holiday six-packs are too! This year’s selection is one of the most powerful to date and includes a bottle of our 30th Anniversary Blackberry Mead, Three-Year Aged Blackberry Mead, Mork’s Mead, “Missile” tow Christmas Ale, Powerhouse Porter and Kai’s Munich Helles. Limited quantities of this Christmas Blaster Pack will be available at 11:00 AM sharp!
Dec. 15: SIXTH ANNUAL BUSHWAKKER STAFF & FRIENDS CRAFT HOLIDAY MARKET. Peruse our jam-packed Arizona Room loaded with wares created by current and former Bushwakker staff and friends from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM. The brewpub will be open from noon to 9:00 PM.
Dec. 16: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. CALL ME MILDY. Original rockin’ blues with a dash of reggae. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Dec. 18: Wednesday Folk Night – special Christmas edition. THE DICKENS YULETIDE SINGERS. A one-hour performance of holiday favourites delivered in Victorian dress. 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Dec. 22: DECEMBER SUNDAY OPENING (third of four.) Last Sunday chance before Christmas! Even Santa might stop by on a Sunday for a Blackberry Mead on tap and pick up a last minute Bushwakker stocking stuffer gift card! Open from noon to 9:00 PM.
What is a Christmas beer? Let’s Discover it!
Editor’s Note: With the recent releases of our Bushwakker Blackberry Mead, Mork’s Mead and “Missile”tow Christmas Ale, the Bushwakker holiday season is certainly underway! But the history of powerful winter ales far predates YOUR Bushwakker. Read on dear reader, read on.
What is a Christmas beer? Any special beer that a master brewer decides to make for the Christmas festivities, really.
Such a vague and redundant definition may frustrate the newbie who’s recently discovered a passion for beer and is understandably yearning for clear classifications. To look at the positive side of this horror vacui, we can say that the absence of strict criteria and boundaries means that Christmas beers are an opportunity for master brewers to set their creativity free and dare.
In countries with a long beer-making tradition, the habit of making special beers to celebrate the end of the year is very common, but it can lead to very different products at different latitudes.
Weihnachtsbier in Germany and Austria
In Germany and Austria, Christmas beers are usually a special case of Festbier, brewed on the most different occasions: from the anniversary of the brewery to the city patron saint celebrations.
They are usually lagers with a little more malt and a stronger body and alcohol content (around 5.5% ABV) than the beers made daily by the brewery. As in these countries winter is Bock’s season, a Christmas special beer may well be a Weihnachtsbock – a more alcoholic lager (6% to 7% ABV) with scents of chestnut honey and dried plums, with a touch of licorice root.
To pay homage to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot – no longer a binding law, but still an important reference for all traditional beer makers – German and Austrian Christmas beers never contain spices.
Christmas beers from the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Christmas beers are usually brown and dark Old Ales: top fermented beers with a medium to high alcohol content (over 6.5% ABV). They contain caramel and roasted malts and a good amount of English hops, and can be aged for longer periods of time, as their name indicates.
The balance of tastes comes from the interaction between rich malty notes of shortbread and toffee, a round body and the typical earthy bitterness, like black tea, that comes from the Kent hops.
It is a common habit to add a dash of Christmas old ale to the Christmas Pudding mix, which will then be served with the same beer.
Kerstbier from Belgium
In the imagination of beer lovers, Belgium is the country that is indissolubly linked to Christmas beer, and the reason for this is exactly the lack of any rules and criteria to define what a Christmas beer is.
Between the Flanders and Wallonia we can find hundreds of very different beers created to celebrate Christmas. In fact, Belgium hosts the first and most important festival dedicated to these special products: the Kerstbier Festival in Esen, a stone’s throw away from the Dutch border.
The use of specific top fermentation yeasts that give a wealth of fruity (esters) and spicy (phenols) scents, and the addition of spices to further enrich the bouquet are the distinctive features of Belgian brewing. It’s no surprise, then, that Christmas beers celebrate the explosion of this style: coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, licorice, cloves, star aniseed, apple puree are just some of the special ingredients used in the recipes of Christmas beers, sometimes inspired by the northern tradition of Gluhwein, or mulled wine.
What should we expect from a Christmas beer, then?
What we can expect from a classic Belgian Christmas beer is a high alcohol content, scents of dehydrated fruit (often dates and dry figs) accompanied by warm touches of spices,. These change from brewery to brewery, just like the choice of malts, which determines the beer color. A structured, yet not too dense body and a sweet taste that is never sickly complete the taste experience.
Belgian brewers, however, are never fond of strict rules. Which means we can also find very dry Christmas beers with no spices at all – a sort of muscular Saison – or even bitter versions, if the brewer is a fan of hops.
The craft beer revolution has created new special Christmas beers all around the world, Italy included, where the rich variety of scents and tastes is even deeper and more intoxicating.
TIME OUT
Johnny wanted to get his mom something nice for Christmas but she’s hard to shop for. Passing a pet store he thought, “Hmm, a pet might be a good idea.” He walked in the pet store and asked the manager what might be a good idea. “How about a puppy?” “No,” said Johnny. “It may poop around the house.” “A fish?” “No, her house is small, so I don’t think an aquarium will fit.” Johnny then spied a parrot and asked, “How about that parrot?” “Oh,” said the manager, “That’s Chet. He’s very expensive.” “Well,” said Johnny, “It’s my mom let’s take a look.” The manager went to Chet, put a lighter under his left wing, and Chet started to sing “Jingle bells, jingle bells…” Then the manager put a lighter under Chet’s right wig and it started to sing, “Dashing through the snow…” “Wow!” said Johnny, “What else does he sing?” The manager held the lighter under Chet’s crotch at which point Chet sang, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”
Take care out there this holiday season. Our two meads and “Missile”tow Ale all pack quite a punch. Enjoy in moderation both in the pub and at home. Best shared with family and friends.
