THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1792
Issue #1792 – Posted on: 30 – May – 2025
BUSHWAKKER SEASONAL SUDS STATUS. Bushwakker head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available PONCE DE LEON BLACKBERRY RASPBERRY ALE, KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, ENIGMA PALE ALE and CYCLONE BARLEYWINE are currently available. There are also batches of BOMBAY IPA and DOUBLE HONEY RED ALE currently working its way through the brewery.
May 30: RIDERS HOST THE BOMBERS. Friday night football in Saskatchewan kicks off at 7:00 PM! Our beloved Green & White plays host to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in this home game pre-season contest. Be sure to stop by and enjoy our BOMBER BURGER & A PINT special.
Much thanks to WESTERN CYCLE for bringing by a much needed second bicycle rack last week. With this year’s HOP CIRCUIT it was certainly put to good use (as you can see.) Don’t forget we also have an indoor bike rack in the rear entranceway of the building for those who prefer indoor parking!
Seeing as our Defy the Dewdney Dig Monsters of Construction t-shirts are proving to be so popular, perhaps we should make some monster stickers available too? Let’s turn that frown upside down!
First glimpse! The brand new sidewalk is currently being installed on the north side of Dewdney Avenue near Broad Street. It will be a nice mix of modernism and rusticity reflective of the Warehouse District charm as part of the $32 million dollar Dewdney Avenue facelift. It’s going to look great come November when it’s all done! Come see the progress being made in this massive positive transformation!
We had a great sold out ALES FOR TAILS steak night fundraising dinner last Tuesday night with the Regina Humane Society! Thanks to all you attended and contributed to their massive silent auction. Good on you Regina! Visit https://bushwakker.com/contact/book-a-steak-night-fundraiser/ for details on how to book a steak night for your organization.
Our FOOTBALL WEEKEND SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for May 30st & 31st is a very decadent BOMBER BURGER created in honour of the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers this Friday night. Come “devour” the competition! 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 from Spain! The Red is the RIOJA ANTANO CRIANZA (Tempranillo) and the White is the BODEGAS BASTIDA EL BLANCO DE LELA DEL MAR (Airen/Sauvignon Blanc/Macabeo). Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 2: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE SMOOTH OPERATORS. A fusion of jazz, blues and rock featuring horns that will blow you away and a singing rhythm section to soothe your soul. Their Bushwakker debut! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
June 4: MONTHLY ALES CLUB MEETING. Don’t miss the last meeting of the season before the club takes a break for the summer! 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 June presentation topics include; ALL ABOUT LAWNMOWER BEERS as well as BEER & FOOD PAIRINGS. Come to the Bushwakker basement clubroom at 7:00 PM and discover what the ALES Club can offer you. New members are always welcome!
June 4: Wednesday Folk Night. SUMMER KICKOFF SINGER/SONGWRITER SHOWCASE. Songsmith Neil Child assembles an eclectic group of local singer/songwriters including: Abby Kaitlyn, Avery Heller, Donny Reddekop, Eliot Torrens, Trent Leggott and Baron Child. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
June 5: RIDERS HOST THE REDBLACKS. The regular season home opener sees a Thursday night contest with a 7:00 PM kickoff! Team Green plays host to the Ottawa Redblacks. Be sure park in either of the free parking lots nearby and then take the free 8th Avenue shuttle to and from the game. And be sure to stop by and enjoy our decadent REDBLACK BURGER & A PINT special. All the best in 2025 Riders!
June 6: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY – SPECIAL ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY D-DAY EDITION. To help commemorate 81 years since the allied forces landed in Normandy, France, members of HMCS Queen will be dressed in their finest whites to help unveil a special Navy-inspired firkin of Pusser’s Navy Rum and Oak Infused Regina Pale Ale. RPA is the Bushwakker beer which was served on tap aboard HMCS Regina. Get ready to raise your glass to a couple of traditional Navy toasts. The ceremony begins at 5:30 PM.
This Beer Has No Barley, No Sugar, and No Gluten — Just 100% Quinoa
Brewed with MIT-backed fermentation science, this new beer is built for drinkers who want to feel as good as their beverage tastes.
Published on May 21, 2025
Samara Oster never liked beer. She found it too heavy, too bitter, and not worth acquiring a taste for. However, during a 2019 trip to Peru, everything changed. Oster tasted a light, crisp beer brewed partially with quinoa — and that single sip sparked a question: What if beer could be reimagined for people like her?
Fast forward to 2025, and Oster is now the founder of Meli, the first 100% quinoa-based beer produced in the United States. Naturally gluten-free, brewed without added sugar, and clocking in at a balanced 4.4% ABV, Meli is designed with wellness-minded drinkers in mind. It launched earlier this spring and has already begun carving out a lane in the beer aisle for those who’ve felt left out of it entirely.
“When I came up with the idea for Meli, I wasn’t even a beer drinker,” Oster shared with Food & Wine. “I was traveling in Peru and came across a beer made from barley and quinoa. The quinoa part caught my eye, so I took a chance and ordered it. It tasted great — crisp and light, without the typical maltiness or bitterness I associated with beer.”
That moment of curiosity followed her back to Boston, where Oster — who holds degrees from both Harvard and MIT — began experimenting with quinoa fermentation alongside a team of MIT food scientists. The process wasn’t simple. Quinoa, she explained, behaves very differently than traditional brewing grains like barley or wheat.
“Quinoa is extremely small compared to traditional grains, and that posed significant challenges — both in terms of accessing the sugars needed for fermentation and in avoiding clogs in equipment that wasn’t built for a grain like this,” Oster said. “We had to rethink the entire brewing process, from milling to mashing to lautering. It took over three years and more than 100 formulations before we had a recipe that worked — and scaled.”
As an ingredient, quinoa brought its own learning curve. Different varieties produced different results, and Oster’s team had to fine-tune every part of the process to get the beer just right.
“Every quinoa variety is different depending on where it’s grown — its protein and carbohydrate levels, its mineral content, everything,” she said. “We did a lot of trial and error to figure out which types made the best beer and how to translate a small-batch process to a commercial scale without compromising flavor.”
Quinoa has a long agricultural and cultural history in the Andes, and it’s been used in fermented drinks like chicha for centuries. More recently, brewers in Latin America and beyond have explored quinoa in craft beer — often blended with barley or other grains. A 2022 study published in the Revista Peruana de Biología examines how Andean pseudocereals — non-grass seeds like quinoa and kañiwa — are being explored in craft beer for their nutritional value and brewing potential. Meli builds on that tradition but pushes it further by developing a 100% quinoa-based recipe scaled for commercial production in the U.S.
The result is an easy-drinking, functional beer made with ethically sourced organic quinoa. It offers a light sweetness, essential nutrients, and 7% of your daily potassium. But Meli isn’t just for people avoiding gluten or cutting sugar — it’s for anyone looking for a beer that feels as good as it tastes.
“Our ‘ideal’ drinker is someone who values wellness and balance,” Oster said. “They probably read nutrition labels. They might not drink often, but when they do, they want something clean and intentional.”
She hopes Meli offers something that’s been missing from the beer aisle: a way to indulge thoughtfully without the baggage.
“In a world where alcohol has become a bad word, I hope Meli shows that there’s a way to thoughtfully indulge,” she said. “So many people I’ve met want to be mindful of their health, but they also want to enjoy themselves. My goal is to offer something that doesn’t leave you feeling gross afterward — no gluten, no sugar, no unnecessary additives. Just clean ingredients and a beer that feels as good as it tastes.”
TIME OUT – Lasting Friendships
My friend and I were at the local pub drinking the other night. I looked over and said, “Hey man, look at those two old drunk bastards over there. That’ll be us in a few more years”. He glanced over, looked at me and said “You drunk idiot, that a mirror!”
With no TV’s or blasting background music, YOUR Bushwakker is the place to abandon your devices and connect with family and friends over good beer and great food.
