THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1788
Issue #1788 – Posted on: 02 – May – 2025
BUSHWAKKER SEASONAL SUDS STATUS. Bushwakker head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, BLOOD ORANGE BLONDE ALE, ENIGMA PALE ALE, PICKARD’S OATMEAL CREAM STOUT, ROBERTSON’S STRONG, PREMIUM PALE ALE and CYCLONE BARLEYWINE are currently available. There is also a batch of DOUBLE HONEY RED ALE currently working its way through the brewery.
Accessing YOUR Bushwakker during the Dewdney Dig has never been easier! The free parking lot across Cornwall Street is now open for Strathdee Building business customers and that includes Bushwakker customers. Just head south from 8th Avenue on Cornwall Street and the parking lot is on your left! We are also beautifying our back entranceway so come see how it’s looking!
Hats off to our talented kitchen and brewery team! Last weekend’s Bushwakker “French Fusion” Brewer’s Dinner was one for the history books. Much thanks to everyone for joining us especially during The Disruptive Dewdney Dig. Can’t wait to do it again next year! But what should the theme be? Hmmm…
After a fair bit of tweaking our Dewdney Dig Monster T-Shirt design is completed. Much thanks to Bushwakker supervisor, Trevor Hlushko for his creative work. The t-shirts are going to print. Our staff get first dibs but we will have some leftovers if you want to wear some of the fun too!
Our CINCO DE MAYO WEEKEND SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for May 2nd & 3rd is a STEAK ASADA TACO PLATTER. 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.
MAY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: This month’s delicious features are the BODEGAS BASTIDA wines from Spain. The Red is EL TINTO DE LELA DEL MAR (Monastrell/Tempranillo) and the White is EL BLANCO DE LELA DEL MAR (Airen/Sauvignon Blanc/Macabeo) and is the first of its kind to be featured at Bushwakker. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 2-8: CINCO DE MAYO WEEK CELEBRATION. Enjoy flavourful Mexican cuisine, a special Double Mexican Firkin edition of First Firkin Friday and an Ultra-Premium Tequila Tasting event too!
May 2: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY – DOUBLE MEXICAN FIRKIN EDITION. Fans of our monthly keg tapping splashdowns won’t want to miss this special event featuring not one, but TWO premium Mexican-inspired kegs to kick off our Cinco De Mayo Week Celebration! We will be presenting two of our most exotic firkin offerings to date. Choose from either a PEANUT BUTTER TEQUILA MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PORTER or a MANGO MEZCAL MEXICAN LIME RADLER firkin. Both will be piped-in and tapped at 5:30. May the best firkin win! Arriba!
May 3: THE 8TH ANNUAL POETRY & A PINT PRESENTATION. We are delighted to once again have the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild as a partner in this springtime annual event. Enjoy a Saturday afternoon of poetry readings from five of Regina and area’s established and up-and-coming writers including: Amber Goodwyn, Elaine McArthur, Andrea Martineau, Eric Gabriel and Saskatchewan Poet Laureate, Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye. Perhaps enjoy a slice of our special poet-inspired Cherry Vanilla Swirl Sundae Cheesecake created just for the occasion! 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
May 5: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. RON SCOTT GROUP. Folky, jazzy, easy listening veteran artist back for another great performance. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
May 7: MONTHLY ALES CLUB MEETING. If you are interested in delving into the world of homebrewing or are just looking to brush up on your brewing skills then the ALES Club is for you! The May presentation topics include; SAISON & BELGIAN BEERS as well as THE HISTORY OF BELGIAN BEERS. Come to the Bushwakker basement clubroom at 7:00 PM and discover what the ALES Club can offer you. New members are always welcome!
May 7: Wednesday Folk Night. SUN ZOOM SPARX. A potent mixture of rock, funk, jazz fusion and psychedelia, peppered with monster riffs, Krautrock grooves, mid-70s ambience and left field curveballs. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
May 8: ULTRA-PREMIUM TEQUILA TASTING. Peanut Butter Tequila? It’s amazing! Mango Mezcal? It’s wonderfully complex! Sotol? What the heck is that? You’ll find out and it’s pretty cool stuff. Six premium agave spirits will be presented. Tickets available now so call 306-359-7276 to get yours! $39.95 each and they are selling quick! 7:00 PM. SOLD OUT.
Spirit Quest: Aging Beer in Tequila Barrels
By: Mark Denote
In the world of barrel-aged beer, bourbon and whiskey are the reigning kings. These two spirit barrels have dominated the idea of barrel-aging because they are comparatively easy to get since bourbon can only be used once, according to the law.
Curiosity, challenge-seeking, and a love of spirits has driven brewers to seek out the new flavors of tequila barrels so they can ply their trade. Each brewer is looking for something different, and to seek a tequila barrel is to accept the challenges that come with aging beer in one.
Barrel of Monks Brewing
In Boca Raton, Florida, brewer Kevin Abbott of Barrel of Monks Brewing has been working with tequila barrels to age his Belgian Tripel, dubbed “Owen.” Kevin’s goal, as with most brewers’ barrel projects, was to add complexity and create new flavors and aromas so that the combination of barrel and beer is greater than the sum of its individual parts.
Kevin says he sought “the peppery spice that many tequilas offer to complement the phenolic characteristics of the yeast strain in that particular beer. Other notes of caramel and vanilla are also present in the finished beer that does very well with that particular style.”
One beer with tequila was not enough so after producing a limited run of Owen, Barrel of Monks Brewing took another shot at tequila and is now ready to bottle a tequila barrel-aged saison. In his second excursion, Kevin says he finds the “tequila flavor is much more restrained, but it did pick up some nice Brett character from the barrel.”
Wicked Weed Brewing Co.
North of the Sunshine State, Asheville, North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing began working with tequila barrels primarily on their Dark Arts Tequila Barrel Aged Wild Imperial Stout and the Oaxacan, a barrel-aged smoked sour ale.
For Sour Production Manager Richard Kilcullen, the use of a tequila barrel has to mesh with “concept of the recipe. With spirit barrels, we start with a cocktail idea, deconstruct them and work backward from there.”
When Wicked Weed wanted to make a take on a “Last of the Oaxacan”cocktail, Kilcullen said the concept beer began its life as an amber sour, “brewed with smoked malts. It’s then laid to rest in Organic Blue Agave Tequila Barrels. The result is a nice blend of citrus acidity, smoke character, and slightly spicy finish. It’s as close as a beer can come to a cocktail experience.”
For Wicked Weed, the tequila barrel is a means to a flavorful end that matches a culinary purpose.
Avery Brewing Co.
In the Rocky Mountains, Avery Brewing Co. has also been working with tequila barrels in both sour and non-sour beers. Barrel Herder Andy Parker had a curiosity which turned into much more once he got ahold of a tequila barrel for aging.
Parker wanted to experiment with tequila barrels, so he says he and his staff “acquired our first four tequila barrels, we put a different beer in each one to see what would happen. Three of the beers worked. One was terrible. But in all four cases we picked up some radically different flavors than [when using] Bourbon barrels.” Avery’s barrel program has released four tequila barrel-aged beers in bottles to date.
AleSmith Brewing Co.
On San Diego’s sunny shores, craft beer veterans AleSmith Brewing Co. are preparing to release their first tequila barrel-aged beer during the first week of May 2016. Director of Brewery Operations Ryan Crisp says that he sought out tequila for Alesmith’s barrel projects because of the oak, vanilla and peppery notes combined with peppery, spicy and fruity notes. His biggest challenge is creating a unique blend of flavors between barrel and beer.
For his maiden tequila voyage, the brewing staff sought culinary inspiration from Mexican hot chocolate. The first beer from tequila barrels is a variant of their lauded Speedway Stout, dubbed Mexican Speedway Stout. The brewery says the beer is “aged in tequila barrels then blended with fresh Speedway infused with a special blend of Mexican coffee beans and fine Mexican chocolate balanced by warming earthy cinnamon.”
The Challenges of Working with Tequila Barrels
Tequila barrels are not without their challenges, and slightly different than the challenges presented by other barrels. Sometimes, problems can lie within the barrels.
Tequila Varieties
Kevin Abbott points to tequila varieties as potential roadblocks to the process. He is not always sure if he’s going to get Anejo or Reposado tequila, each of which has a very different flavor profile which can hinder consistency.
Limited Barrel Stock
Andy Parker mentions the challenge of acquiring a tequila barrel from limited stock, made more difficult by the practice distillers have of reusing their barrels.
Barrel Maintenance
Wicked Weed’s Kilcullen reflects on the maintenance required for tequila barrels. “Tequila barrels are older; maintenance can be more intensive in terms of repairing leaks, fixing hoops, etc.”
Finding the Right Beer
Andy Parker says that he might have an issue “making the right beer for the barrels. The flavors you get from tequila barrels can be a little polarizing. Tequila essence can come off as anything from lavender to pickles depending on the person’s palate.”
To age a beer in a tequila barrel, like any spirit barrel, is to accept the individual challenges that come with it.
While hurdles arise in barrel aging, the rewards are also flavorful. Thankfully, small and independent brewers are not deterred and continue to see opportunity instead of roadblocks.
As Alesmith’s Crisp said, which can be true of the entire practice of tequila aging, “We’re still exploring the possibilities, but I think there is a lot of potential.”
TIME OUT – Tequila and the Bull
A young man stopped at a local restaurant after a day of roaming around in Mexico. While sipping his tequila, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious-looking platter being served at the next table.
It looked good.
It smelled good.
He asked the waiter, “What is that you just served?”
The waiter replied, “Ah senor, you have excellent taste! Those are bull’s testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!”
The visitor, though momentarily daunted, said, “What the heck, I’m on holiday down here! Bring me an order!”
The waiter replied, “I am so sorry senor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early tomorrow and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy!”
The next morning, the man returned, placed his order, and then that evening was served the one and only special delicacy of the day.
After a few bites, and inspecting the contents of his platter, he called to the waiter and said, “These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday!”
The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Si, Senor. Sometimes the bull, he wins.”
You may be surprised how well tequila infused with beer! For only the second time in our 34 year history, not one but two kegs of Mexican-inspired premium brews will be tapped to kick off our Cinco De Mayo Week Celebration. Enjoy a PEANUT BUTTER TEQUILA MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PORTER or a MANGO MEZCAL MEXICAN LIME RADLER firkin. See you Friday, May 2nd at 5:30!
