THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1482

THE WAKKER WEEKLY – Issue #1482 – Posted on: 24-Jun-2019

BUSHWAKKER NEWS

NEWS FROM THE BREWERY! Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available BOMBAY IPA, PREMIUM PALE ALE, BARON BOCK and MANGO BLONDE ALE are currently on tap. There are also batches of HONEY THISTLE WIT, CHICO LIGHT IPA, GRANNY’S BITTER, BUSHVAR CZECH PILS, and GREAT NORTHERN GRAPEFRUIT RADLER working their way through the brewery.

Our June Premium Wine Features are from the Ares De Madeiros Winery in Portugal. The white is a 2016 vintage Viognier blend with Verdelho and Arinto and the red is a 2014 vintage Syrah blend with Aragonez and Touriga Nacional.

Our GUEST TAP is pouring a small keg of hibiscus and rose hip PINK IPA from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing. This will be followed by the CIDER & BLACK apple and black currant cider from Crossmount Cidery.

THE BUSHWAKKER GOODNESS IS SPREADING!  ALL SIX REGINA SLGA stores are now offering a varied selection of Bushwakker beers in 650ml bottles. The Quance street SLGA store is also offering growler fills of our DUNGARVON IRISH RED ALE. Regina’s Urban Cellars east location and Metro Liquor also offers a selection of our bottled beers. ATTENTION SASKATOON RESIDENTS! You can find our DUNGARVON bottles in the Saskatoon Metro Liquor store!

BUSHWAKKER EVENTS

June 24: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT. Veteran Regina act delivers popular jazz and adult contemporary tunes. 8:00 PM.

June 26: Wednesday Night Folk. MITCHELL MOZDZEN. Blues rock trio from Manitoba makes their Bushwakker debut. 8:00 PM.

“Fans” of our limited edition Cyclone Barleywine will want to be here on Sunday, June 30th!

June 30: CYCLONE BARLEYWINE RELEASE:  On June 30, 1912, the infamous Regina Cyclone tore through the heart of the Queen City and destroyed the original building where The Bushwakker now stands. 107 years later to the exact day, we pay tribute to this incredible force of nature with the release of one of our strongest ales. Our Cyclone Barleywine is an English-style barleywine which packs a big malty punch with plenty of alcohol warmth and complexity. Limited bottles available. See you at noon on Sunday!

July 1: Open from Noon to Nine on Canada Day. SASK VS. TORONTO. The Riders play host to the Argonauts at 5:00 PM for a special Canada Day contest at Mosaic Stadium. Be sure to enjoy our gourmet TORONTO BURGER & A PINT SPECIAL and discover for yourself why we were voted as the place in Regina for local burgers and local fries! Come down and “devour” the competition!

July 3: Wednesday Night Folk. A NEW GROUND. Talented Celtic folk duo from Ontario return! 8:00 PM.

July 5: SASKATCHEWAN SUMMER TOURIST BLACKBERRY MEAD RELEASE. We see hundreds of tourists come through our doors every summer and many of them are looking for our famous Blackberry Mead Christmas specialty melomel. For the first time in our 28 year history, we will make available approximately 100 bottles which will be sold individually. How long will they last? We have no idea!

July 5: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY. To acknowledge the summer tourism release of a limited number of Bushwakker Blackberry Mead bottles on this day, we will present a never-before-attempted firkin offering. The MANGO MEAD is a braggot which blends both our famous Blackberry Mead with our new Mango Blonde Ale to create one incredible fruity summer experience. This once-in-a-lifetime firkin will be piped out by a member of the Regina Police Services Pipes & Drums and tapped at 5:30. Plan to arrive early in order to get a good seat!

July 6: SASK VS. CALGARY. The Riders will be looking for redemption after the pre-season thumping they received from the Stampeders. Help fuel their fire by “devouring” the competition with our gourmet CALGARY BURGER & A PINT SPECIAL for only $19.95! Kickoff is at 8:00 PM.

July 8: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. KEITH BOMPHRAY & FRIENDS. Talented act puts a few fun spins on some great jazz standards. 8:00 PM.

July 10: PETE EASTMURE Fantastic Toronto singer/songwriter serves up Americana and folk in an encore performance!

July 15: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. DR. B AND THE BISCUIT. Old time jazz and roots duo from Vancouver make their Bushwakker debut. 8:00 PM.

July 17: Wednesday Night Folk. CASATI. Winnipeg folk and jazz trio play ukulele, guitar, double bass sometimes a hurdy-gurdy! 8:00 PM.

July 20: SASK VS BC. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM. Enjoy our gourmet BC BURGER & A PINT SPECIAL for only $19.95. Chef Mike is a big Lions fan so his game day burger feature should be “fiercely” delicious!

July 22: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. HENDRICKSEN n’ SON. Jazz standards and Broadway show tunes from father and son act. 8:00 PM.

July 24: Wednesday Night Folk. PROJECT: CONSTELLATION. Acoustic-folk-rock-punk-pop duo from Grand Forks, ND. influenced by old Irish folk music to modern day punk. 8:00 PM.

July 29: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. BILLY HUGHES & THE INSTIGATORS. Veteran Regina bluesman and his rockin’ blues band and is back for a summer performance! 8:00 PM.

July 31: Wednesday Night Folk. THE HOLMES SHOW. Local musician, Adam Holmes, presents a Variety Show featuring a number of singer/songwriters including: Kenny Berezowski, Shannon Drall, Charles Zielke, Slow Burn, and David Johnsen. 8:00 PM.

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What’s Happening In Alberta’s Beer Industry?

By Jason Foster

As I have been slowly working my way back into the beer world (and real life), I have been asked two questions countless times. “Why do you think Alberta beer is exploding?” And, “Are we going to max out?”

The first question requires a longer response than I wish to do at the moment – today I just want to dip my and your toe into the water a bit. But allow me a couple of initial, tentative thoughts to whet your appetite and jog my thinking.

The number of Alberta breweries has exploded in the last four years (see chart). This is a fact not lost on anyone but it is good to look at the numbers a bit. First, for context we need to remember that back in 2011 there were only 9 independent brewery operations (Brewsters and Bear Hills had multiple licenses). We saw steady but not jaw-dropping growth for the next few years of 15% to 25% increases. 2015 was the year things started to take off, with annual increases of 40% or more each year. The best year by percentage was 2016 where the number of breweries doubled. 2018 was teh best year in raw totals, with 28 new breweries and 2019 looks like it will smash that, with 16 already. (Note: my numbers may be off by a couple here or there; I have not yet had time to properly update my database so there may be some errors.)

For any industry that is astronomical growth. Yes, many of those breweries are fairly small, serving local communities and not pushing onto the provincial market. We will leave that caveat aside for the moment.

The reason? Two-fold in my mind. The biggest is changes in government policy and approach to the industry. The past eight years, and in particular the last four, have witnessed a complete turnabout with how the Alberta government perceives the industry and sees its role in promoting the industry. That has serious impacts.
I will save the details about which policies and whether the Tories or the NDP deserve more credit to another day – remember this is a toe-dipping post (unsurprising spoiler: I will suggest it is complex). But it is a reminder to all of us that government plays an important role in setting the market conditions.

The second reason is the Zeitgeist. To over-simplify we could say it is the growing awareness and support for local food and independent businesses. That is somewhat true, but I will boldly say that I believe that reason is overblown. Most people are only vaguely onside with the notion of local to the extent they know the right things to say but will wander into a chain restaurant or buy a macro pseudo-craft beer without thinking about it.

No, by Zeitgeist I mean a more nebulous sense of “spirit of the times”. The Alberta beer industry has people’s attention in a way it didn’t four years ago. Consumers feel, in a poorly articulated way, that there is something “interesting” about Alberta beer these days. In part I think this attributable to there being more selection and a wider range of styles and flavours that comes with a growing industry. Bars feel a greater need to carry local. Liquor stores create an Alberta section where they didn’t two years ago.

I see it in my interactions with average beer drinkers all the time. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what it is and what it means, which is why the word Zeitgeist seems so appropriate.

As for the second question – are we topping out – my short answer is NO. The slightly longer answer is that anyone who thinks they can predict where this is headed in the next couple years is either deluding themselves or you. The market is simply too unstable at the moment. We can’t control the Zeitgeist and what that might mean. And growth has its own momentum. What seemed impossible five years ago is now the status quo. And don’t get me started on the uncertainty of the regulatory regime (well, you can but another day), which can have a huge impact.

Yes, there will be closures; in every industry businesses fail. The key is not to dwell on the individual stories and see the grand arch. And for the moment it is all pointing up in Alberta.

I am glad I am back and look forward to watching it unfold.

TIME OUT- Still More Real Life Zen Teachings

11. If you tell only the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.  Don’t forget this.

12. Some days you are the dog, some days you are the tree.

13. Don’t worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

14. Good judgment comes from surviving bad experiences … that come from making bad judgments.

15. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

16. There are two excellent theories for arguing with women. Neither one works.

17. Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your lips are moving.

18. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.

19. When we are born we are naked, wet and hungry….slapped on our ass and made to cry … then things get worse.

20. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

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