THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1819
Our 31st Annual Bushwakker Blackberry Mead Release Saturday is upon us! Our Blackberry Mead Pre-Order page will close at noon on Friday but not to worry, you can still come visit us this Saturday starting at 11:00 AM. Just come in through the back doors to purchase your 2025 vintage mead bottles. Our seasonally available rich and malty HARVEST LAGER, RASPBERRY SOUR, GOSE TO THE FINISH and SUMMER WHEAT are currently pouring on tap and are in our offsale. There are also batches of BLACKBERRY MEAD and BUSHWAKKER 35th ANNIVERSARY IMPERIAL HONEY RED ALE working their way through the brewery!
Mead Day just wouldn’t be Mead Day without our popular BLACKBERRY MEAD CHEESECAKE! Be sure to stop by on Saturday, December 6th and enjoy a slice in-house or get one to go!
Congratulations to Brett Varty on winning our “Guess the Day Dewdney Opens” Contest. Brett is the proud new owner of a brand new shiny $100 Bushwakker gift card! Almost 300,000 people saw our contest post and over 900 people picked an opening day or made a creative and colourful comment. Plenty of folks chose December 1st so we just picked the first person we saw whilst scrolling through the sea of comments. That was fun! Let’s do it again! What should our next contest theme be? #bushwakkerbrewpub #
Home sweet home! Our beautiful model of the first HMCS Regina is now safely on its dedicated shelf up behind the bar. Much thanks to the members of HMCS Queen for presenting her to us. Behind the model is a framed image of the second and current HMCS Regina. Although we could use an updated image of the ship with its new “dazzle” camouflage paint job! 
What better way to show someone you care this holiday season than the gift of a great night out at The Bushwakker? Our gift cards are available in $25, $50 and $100 denominations. Comes with a cute Bushwakker Christmas card. Stop by to pick yours up today!
Our AUTUMN SEASONAL MENU is humming right along! Our six sensational decadent delights include: Beef Vindaloo Bowl, BBQ Chicken & Peach Flatbread, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Birria Tacos, Cajun Steak & Shrimp and Pumpkin Pie! View our limited time autumn menu at https://bushwakker.com/full-
Office Christmas Party Alert! We have two private rooms available for your upcoming festive gatherings which each accommodate up to 50 people. Our main floor Arizona Room features big windows and lots of plants while our basement Clubroom offers a unique view into the Bushwakker brewery. Contact rayna@bushwakker.com to secure your holiday room rental today!
Our WEEKEND SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for December 5th & 6th is SHEPHERD’S PIE. 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. Please note you can also have a pop, lemonade, sarsaparilla, ice tea or coffee instead of a pint of beer if you wish!
DECEMBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: This month’s wine specials are festive and classy! The Red is CHATEAU REDON BORDEAUX (merlot/cabernet sauvignon) from France and the White is KIM CRAWFORD JABBER SAUVIGNON BLANC from Chile. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
UPCOMING EVENT
Dec. 5: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY! Don’t miss this decades-old 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! This month’s firkin offering is a RUM RAISIN YULETIDE ALE! Get ready for one of the strangest holiday firkin tappings in Bushwakker history. We hear rumours the firkin may be tapped by a T-Rex Santa. The suds-soaking spectacular takes place at 5:30 PM.
Dec. 6: THE 31ST ANNUAL BUSHWAKKER BLACKBERRY MEAD RELEASE. A true Saskatchewan phenomenon! We spend all year making this Lumsden Valley honey nectar infused with juicy blackberries. The result is an exotic elixir unlike any other. We open our doors at 11:00 AM and hundreds of bottles are snapped up by the legion of devoted Bushwakker Blackberry Mead fans. The supply of mead on tap lasts throughout the month. Our official kick-off of the Bushwakker holiday season! Free parking is available on the east side of Cornwall Street in our building’s customer parking lot. Then just enter through the back entrance of Bushwakker on Mead Day from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. 
Dec. 7: CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT. We are normally open on Sundays in December. We will once again be following that tradition but not until next week. 
Dec. 8: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE MINISTRY OF GROOVE. Popular 1970s jazz funk act returns to deliver their smash hit single, “Blackberry Mead.” 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM. 
Dec. 10: Wednesday Folk Night. THE CHRSTMAS CHILD. Local songsmith Neil Child assembles an eclectic group of Regina singer/songwriters for an evening of original compositions and holiday favourites too. This year’s line-up includes: Avery Heller, Donny Reddekop, Abby Kaitlyn, Cassidy Flaman, Trent Leggott and Baron Child. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM. 
Dec. 14: SEVENTH 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.
‘A dream come true’: Regina business owners ecstatic as Dewdney Avenue reopens
Aliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News: Dec 01, 2025
Dewdney Avenue between Albert Street and Broad Street reopened Monday after two years under construction. (Aliyah Marko-Omene/ CBC)
Business owners along Dewdney Avenue were all smiles as cars and pedestrians passed by on the road that reopened Monday after years under construction.
The section of the road — in the North Central area between Albert and Broad streets, also known as the Warehouse District — was part of the City of Regina’s two-year, $67.5-million revitalization project. The work was aimed at making the area more vibrant and safe for residents.
The transformation was from the ground up and included the installation of new water mains, street lighting, traffic lights and upgraded sidewalks and roads, said Mayor Chad Bachynski at an event unveiling the new road Monday.
“It’s like a dream come true,” said Grant Frew, bar and marketing manager of Bushwakker Brewpub.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for so long, and when I arrived at work here this morning and saw the cars driving by and vehicles parked on Dewdney [Avenue], it’s just like life had returned. It was so fantastic.”
Frew said the last five years since the pandemic have been especially challenging for the business, but he decided to remain positive and connect with his customers over social media.
“We decided we would simply update people on how the construction was going,” Frew said.
“Much to our surprise, we found that thousands and thousands of people were really interested in what was going on.”
Frew said people who had never been to Regina started to recognize the name Dewdney by following along with the brewpub’s content. When he heard a rumour that the road would be reopening last week, he decided to do a giveaway post, which he said racked up 300,000 views and almost 1,000 comments.
Grant Frew, bar and marketing manager of Bushwakker Brewpub, says the reopening of Dewdney Avenue is like an early Christmas gift. (Aliyah Marko-Omene/ CBC)
Up the road, Mark Heise, president and owner of Rebellion Brewing Company, woke up with relief and excitement.
“Everyone’s already talking about the future, what’s to come, all that sort of stuff. The future is bright. Warehouse District, Dewdney is the place to be,” he said.
The street’s reopening comes after years of challenges and looking for different ways to connect with customers. Heise also said has been posting videos to social media to promote his business.
Rebellion Brewing, located on the corner of Dewdney Avenue and Broad Street, was completely blocked off by construction for months at a time.
“We couldn’t just sit on our hands and wait for the city and hope that things would work out and hope that customers would come,” Heise said.
“So we’ve tried to really put on a ton of events that, you know, we’re not saying force, but really encouraged the public to come here, because even myself, if I know an area is under construction, I’m going to avoid it.”
Heise said has already noticed a difference on the street, which he said had no walkable sidewalks before the construction work.
“I can tell you that within half an hour of these sidewalks opening, there [were] people walking down them. I mean, that’s pretty powerful,” Heise said.
“If you build it, they will come.”
The city said it will hold a grand reopening of Dewdney Avenue in spring 2026.
TIME OUT – Benny the Mead Drinking Viking
Benny was your typical Viking. Strong, tall and courageous, he was the ideal viking in every way, except for one.
See, Benny couldn’t grow a beard. For all his 30 winters on Earth, he still had just as smooth a face as the day he was born.
This bothered Benny, because when he was out pillaging, nobody took him seriously.
Who is scared of a baby faced warrior that looks like he’s 16?
The final straw for Benny just happened at the last raid. His opponent laughed at him and asked the Vikings to send him a man instead of a boy.
Well, Benny might have slain that warrior for his crass comment, but his confidence was beginning to fade.
So that night, during the rioting, looting and pillaging, Benny got very, very drunk on mead and wandered out into a field.
“Odin!” he yelled. “Why have you forsaken me? Why have you cursed me with this face?”
Benny was surprised to hear an answer back.
“Benny! I have not forsaken you, why do you say such things?”
“Odin, how can I be a feared warrior when I cannot grow a beard? My opponents laugh at me and call me a child! I just wish to grow a beard like yours, one such that all will know me to be a man!”
“Very well,” Odin replied. “As you’ve been a good Viking, I will help you grow your beard… BUT!!!! If you ever cut or shave, I will turn you into an urn!”
“Odin, I would never do that,” Benny replied. “All I’ve wanted my life is to serve you and look like a man!”
“So be it,” Odin said. “But you have been warned.”
Benny passed out into a drunken sleep to awake the next morning. When he awoke, he thought it all a dream until he rubbed his face and where once was smooth skin like a baby’s bottom was now stubble.
“Yes Odin! Thank you! I will not forget our deal!” cried Benny.
By the end of the day, Benny had a respectable shadow on his face.
At the end of the week, Benny’s beard had come in.
At the end of two weeks, Benny’s beard had continued to grow and was now down to his chest.
His life was good, he had the respect of his fellow Vikings, his opponents feared him, and Benny had never been happier.
However, his beard continued to grow at an astonishing rate. At the end of the third week, it had grown to his waist.
His fellow Vikings were muttering about black magic behind his back.
At the end of the month, it was down to his knees, and in order to go into battle, he had to tie it around himself like a belt.
At the end of two months, he could no longer move without the assistance of a wheel barrow to carry his beard in front of him, he could not go into battle, and he his fellow Vikings were sure he was cursed.
Benny was despondent. He began to think to himself about how busy Odin must be. How Odin couldn’t possibly remember the agreement they had. How Odin must have forgotten him, for how else would his beard have continued to grow so much.
Benny couldn’t take it anymore. He took his belt knife, grabbed his long beard and just as soon as his blade parted the first hair on his face…
Poof!!! Benny was turned into an urn.
The moral of this story is: A Benny shaved is a Benny urned.
This Saturday is our Annual Bushwakker Blackberry Mead Release Day! At 10.5% ABV, our delicious honey and berry elixir is ideal for sharing. Pick up some bottles and enjoy a goblet on tap this holiday season!
