THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1856
Earlier this week saw the two month anniversary of the massive city water line break which took place in front of our building. The damage to our basement brewery was extensive but we are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel and hope to start brewing Bushwakker beer again next week. Fingers crossed!
BUSHWAKKER SEASONAL BEER STATUS Our seasonally available UPENDI PINEAPPLE PASSION FRUIT SOUR, HONEY THISTLE WIT, CHINOOK E.S.B. and BARON BOCK are currently available. Bottles of our famous BLACKBERRY MEAD are also available in our offsale as part of our 2026 Summer Mead Release. A batch of CARA CARA ORANGE ALE will soon be working its way through the brewery.
Our WEEKEND SPECIAL DINING FEATURE for August 21st & 22nd is a CAJUN STEAK & SHRIMP 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. Please note you can also have a pop, lemonade, sarsaparilla, ice tea or coffee instead of a pint of beer if you wish!
Our Summer Seasonal BBQ Menu is here! One of the most decadent dishes is the Smoked Brisket Bun! Slow house-smoked beef brisket glazed with chipotle honey BBQ sauce on a sesame brioche bun. Topped with smoked gouda, pickled red onions and creamy apple coleslaw. We hear Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters is a big smoked meat fan. We’ll be sure to incorporate some smoked meat into our concert day Foo Fighter Burger & a Pint Special next month!
Our Arizona Room private banquet room is now once again available for private party rentals. The room seats up to 50 people and features plenty of Chicago style warehouse character with large windows, a pressed tin ceiling and plenty of plants too! Contact info@bushwakker.com to secure the room for your next gathering today!
The pipes and drums have played a big role in our 35 year history. First Firkin Friday, Robbie Burns Day, St. Patrick’s Day and our annual Single Malt Scotch Tasting event always features this signature Scottish sound. Congrats to our Canadian musicians who recently won the top prize at the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland!
The summer Hop Circuit is now in its final weeks as we approach the Labour Day Long Weekend! So pick up your free passport map and take a hike or ride your bike and visit all six participating Regina craft breweries asap! Collect a stamp at all six locations and receive your free 2026 Hop Circuit commemorative glass! Get out there and enjoy the end of another beautiful Queen City summer with some sensational Saskatchewan suds!
AUGUST WINE FEATURES: This month’s Wine Features hail from Ontario! The Red is the TAWSE CABERNET MERLOT and the White is the SPECK BROTHERS FAMILY TREE GOAT LADY CHARDONNAY. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half-litre.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug. 24: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE INCONSOULABLES. 60’s and 70’s garage, rock, soul and funk classics. Think “Commitments” vibes and you may understand why this band is making their Bushwakker debut on a Jazz & Blues night. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Aug. 26: Wednesday Folk Night. NARROW GATE. Popular group delivers folk, jazz, pop and gospel delivered on string bass, mandolin, guitar, accordion, keyboards, flugel horn, drums, flute and vocals. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Aug. 29: RIDERS HOST TORONTO. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM. Be sure to stop by and enjoy our gourmet ARGONAUTS BURGER & A PINT special before, during or after the game. Don’t forget you can park in the huge free parking across the street and then take the free Dewdney shuttle to and from the game. Come “devour” the competition!
2,300-Year-Old Beer Found Preserved in a Bronze Bottle in China Reveals Ancient Brewing Techniques
A 2,300-year-old alcoholic beverage discovered inside a sealed bronze vessel in China is giving researchers an unusually detailed look at ancient brewing practices. Found in a Qin-period tomb at the Shanjiabao cemetery in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the vessel contained approximately 3.74 litres of pale blue-green liquid that had survived for more than two millennia.
The discovery is particularly significant because archaeologists rarely recover ancient alcoholic beverages in liquid form. In most cases, only dried residues remain inside vessels. Here, researchers were able to examine several litres of surviving liquid, identifying more than 2,400 organic compounds alongside starch grains, phytoliths and yeast remains.
What Ancient Brewing Looked Like in Qin-Era China
The findings offer a rare window into ancient brewing during China’s Warring States period, which lasted from 475 to 221 BCE. The bronze vessel was recovered from Tomb M39 at Shanjiabao cemetery and is associated with the Qin state.
According to the research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, chemical and microscopic analyses indicate that the liquid was a non-distilled, cereal-based alcoholic beverage. Broomcorn millet appears to have been one of its principal ingredients, while members of the Triticeae family, including wheat and barley, were also identified.
The researchers detected 24 broad classes of organic compounds, including amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates. Lactic acid and oxalic acid were also present, providing further evidence that the liquid had undergone fermentation rather than simply being groundwater that entered the tomb.
A Complex Fermentation Process
For modern brewers, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the discovery is the evidence of the microorganisms involved. Yeast remains were identified in the liquid, while the research points towards the use of qu, a traditional East Asian fermentation starter made from moulded grains and containing a combination of moulds, yeasts and bacteria.
Qu played an important role in historical Chinese alcohol production. Unlike contemporary brewing, where malted grains provide enzymes to convert starch into fermentable sugars, qu-based fermentation uses a complex microbial ecosystem to help break down grains and drive fermentation.
Earlier research on a separate 2,300-year-old liquid preserved in a Qin tomb in Shaanxi found evidence of wheat and barley, rice, Job’s tears, broomcorn millet and pulses, with a cereal-based qu starter likely contributing moulds, yeasts and bacteria. That beverage was found to most closely resemble huangjiu, or Chinese yellow beer.
The newer Shanjiabao discovery similarly demonstrates that ancient brewing was far from a rudimentary process. The selection of cereals and fermentation microorganisms points towards an established understanding of how ingredients and microbial communities could be combined to produce alcoholic beverages.
Was It Actually Beer?
Although the discovery has been widely reported as a 2,300-year-old beer, the scientific evidence calls for a little nuance.
Researchers describe the liquid as a cereal-based alcoholic beverage rather than modern beer. Its composition indicates that it was fermented and non-distilled, but it would not have resembled today’s lagers, pale ales or other commercially produced beer styles. The presence of millet, wheat or barley and fermentation microorganisms does, however, place the beverage firmly within the broader history of grain-based alcohol production.
This distinction is important when tracing the history of ancient brewing. Beer has taken many forms across civilisations, shaped by local grains, fermentation methods, climate and available microorganisms. What qualifies as “beer” has also evolved considerably over thousands of years.
How Did the Liquid Survive for 2,300 Years?
The preservation of several litres of liquid is perhaps as remarkable as its age.
Researchers believe a combination of factors helped protect the beverage. The bronze vessel was sealed using textile material on the inside and an organic-tempered daub on the outside. The relatively dry environment and burial conditions may also have limited evaporation and contamination.
The vessel itself was a distinctive bronze container with a garlic-shaped mouth, a form associated with the storage of alcoholic beverages during the period. Its location inside a tomb also raises questions about the role alcohol played in Qin-era funerary practices. Researchers suggest the drink may have been intended as a ritual or funerary offering, although its exact purpose cannot be established with certainty.
A Time Capsule of Fermentation
What makes the discovery valuable to researchers is the amount of information preserved within the liquid. Rather than reconstructing a beverage from a few dried traces, scientists were able to combine chemical analysis with microscopic examination of starches, phytoliths and yeast.
The evidence adds another piece to the long history of ancient brewing in China, where archaeological research has already uncovered evidence of cereal-based alcohol production dating back thousands of years. Studies of Neolithic sites indicate that early communities were fermenting beverages from grains such as rice and millet as far back as around 9,000 years ago.
For the brewing world, the discovery offers more than an intriguing archaeological story. It shows that the fundamentals of fermentation—selecting suitable grains, working with microorganisms and developing repeatable production methods—were already being explored long before modern brewing science put names and measurements to the process.
The 2,300-year-old liquid may not be a beer in the modern sense, but it is a remarkable record of ancient brewing, preserved in a bronze vessel and now helping researchers reconstruct how people in early China turned grains into alcohol.
TIME OUT – Old Age & Beer
Three old guys walk into a bar. The first says, “Windy, isn’t it?” The second says, “No, it’s Thursday!” The third says, “So am I. Let’s go get a beer.”
An old man sits at the corner of the pub every day, staring into his empty mug of draft beer for an hour. One day, a young hipster sits next to him and asks, “Grandpa, what’s the secret to life?” The old man replies, “Never waste your beer, and never trust a fart after sixty.”
Why do old men prefer drinking dark stout at the pub? Because they like their beer like they like their memories: dark, bitter, and hard to swallow.
An 80-year-old man stumbles up to the bar and orders four pints of beer at once. The bartender looks confused and asks, “Why four at a time?” The old man sighs, “I drink with my three best friends who have already passed away. I keep a glass for each of them.” The bartender smiles and pours them. A week later, the old man comes in and orders only three pints. The bartender says, “Ah, did one of your friends pass?” The old man shakes his head, “No, I just quit drinking.”
Although there are a number of rumoured health benefits to drinking beer, as we all age, moderation becomes key. Quality over quantity! And yes, certain beer styles do improve dramatically with proper time in a cellar!
