THE WAKKER WEEKLY

Issue #1509 – Posted on: 30-Dec-2019

BUSHWAKKER NEWS

From the Bushwakker management and staff we wish to thank you for your continued enthusiastic and incredible support this year. We wish you good health, happiness and prosperity in 2020!

NEWS FROM THE BREWERY! Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available BLACKBERRY MEAD, “MISSILE”TOW CHRISTMAS ALE, KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, PONCE DE LEON BLACKBERRY/ RASPBERRY FRUIT ALE and PICKARD’S OATMEAL CREAM STOUT are currently on tap. There are also batches of CRANBERRY BLONDE ALE, ARCTIC DARK MUNICH DUNKEL and SASKADIAN BLACK IPA working their way through the brewery.

Our December Premium White Wine feature is Smoking Loon Pinot Grigio from California. The Premium Red Wine feature is Circus Malbec from Argentina. Both are $8.50 for a glass and $22.95 for a half litre.

Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring the WEIRD FICTION Dill & Salt Kettle Sour from Regina’s Malty National Brewing. Next up is a LONDON FOG PORTER from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing. This will be followed by a RASPBERRY WHEAT from Regina’s Pile O’ Bones Brewing.

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 number one selling DUNGARVON IRISH RED ALE. Regina’s Urban Cellars east location and Metro Liquor also offer a selection of our bottled beers.

BUSHWAKKER EVENTS

Dec. 30: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. CALL ME MILDY. Powerful blues/rock, slide & harmonica peppered with reggae-laden melodies. 8:00 PM.

Dec. 31: Nothing For New Year’s Eve 14. Regina’s biggest non-event of the year returns! Over a decade ago we offered you a simple formulated event and you loved it. No noise makers, no escalated drink prices, no cover charge, no midnight champagne, no dancing, no line-ups, no hassle, no problem! Come spend a relaxing evening at the good ‘ol Bushwakker as we welcome 2020. Perhaps try Chef Mike’s special prime rib and jumbo Yorkshire pudding New Year’s Eve dinner. What a meal to finish off the year! Hurry and make your dinner reservation today!

Jan. 1: CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY. Happy New Year!

Jan. 3: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY. Kick off your new year with a “bang!” Enjoy the pomp and circumstance of this long-standing Bushwakker monthly tradition. A keg of special beer is paraded throughout the brewpub in a procession led by a piper from The Regina Police Service Pipes & Drums. A volunteer is selected to wield the handmade wooden maul affectionately called The Mighty Firkin Wakker and attempt to tap the firkin in one mighty blow. This month’s firkin will be a brand new offering – a SPICY CHOCOLATE STOUT. 5:30 PM.

Jan. 6: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. ARTIE BALKWILL & ALBERT “STRANGE MAN”. Double bill featuring jazz/roots and finger picking/steel guitar. 8:00 PM.

Jan. 8: ALES CLIB MONTHLY MEETING. So you received a shiny new home brewing kit for Christmas but want to make sure you produce some top quality suds? Be sure to sit in on a meeting with some of the most enthusiastic homebrewers in the city and learn a thing or two on how to take your homebrewing skills to the next level. New members are always welcome. This month’s presentation topic will be Saison/Grisette – Farmhouse. Meetings are held in the Bushwakker basement clubroom on the first Wednesday of the month at 8:00 PM.

Jan. 13: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE JAZZ BAND-ITS. Very large act plays big band, jazz and swing. 8:00 PM.

Jan. 15: Wednesday Night Folk. LADIES OF THE PRAIRIE & THE MALE ORDER BAND. Female harmonies, guitar, banjo, stell guitar, mandolin amd more! 8:00 PM.

Jan 16: SCIENCE PUB – “The consensus is in: Evidence supporting human induced climate change.” Our wildly popular Science Pub Series has returned for an eighth incredible season! Enjoy lectures on scientific topics of general interest in both our Arizona Room (main floor banquet room) and basement clubroom over fine craft beer and award-winning pub cuisine. The main floor room opens at 5:00 PM and once it reaches capacity the basement clubroom will then open. Avoid disappointment and come down early for dinner and a pint before the presentation which begins at 7:00 PM. This month’s lecture will be presented by Dr. Britt Hall, Department of Biology, University of Regina.

Jan. 20: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. HENDRICKSEN N’ SON. Father and son act deliver Broadway show tunes and great jazz standards. 8:00 PM.

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What Makes a Christmas Beer?

BY:  OWEN OGLETREE

With a chill outside and a roaring fire and festive atmosphere indoors, family and friends gather around a winter holiday table, anxiously anticipating digging in to hearty, savory entrées and decadent desserts highlighted with winter spices. As the host enters the room, the pop of a cork produces a startle. Contrary to the expectations of many guests, rather than sparkling wine, the host begins to pour a dark, rich, spiced Belgian Christmas ale into everyone’s wine glass. Although many seem skeptical of the selection, all doubts fade as each guest sips the luxurious ale alongside succulent roast duck and sweet potatoes. The pairing achieves a perfect marriage of flavors.

Wines can be expensive, acidic, high in alcohol and overpowering to many winter seasonal dishes. Eggnog is filling and fatty, and cocktails and mixed drinks are often too intoxicating to enjoy throughout an extended evening of socializing and feasting. Seasonal winter beers make perfect accompaniments for festive winter celebrations, and the craft beer craze has definitely spilled over to modern holiday tables.

Winter seasonals and Christmas beers began as adored traditions in England, Belgium and Germany where brewers created warming ales and lagers that were more robust in color, aroma, flavor and alcohol. These are not beers to quench a thirst but to sustain a soul through the dead of winter.

With roots in the ancient European pagan celebrations around the winter solstice, winter beers later saw production in abbeys and monasteries throughout Europe. Monks often brewed the celebratory ales to honor the birth of Christ and provide fortification during the fasting periods associated with Lent.

Although not typical in the UK or Germany, Belgian and American craft brewers enjoy concocting modern winter brews that showcase a variety of fruits, sugars and spices that can suggest mulled wine or Christmas sweets. The Beer Judge Certification Program’s style guidelines describe winter seasonal beers as “stronger, darker, spiced beers that often have a rich body and warming finish suggesting a good accompaniment for the cold winter season.”

Christmas beer flavors and aromatics encompass an extensive range. Some may simply be darker, maltier, hoppier or stronger versions of a classic style, while several other examples may include notes of Christmas cookies, ginger, desserts, chocolate, spruce, juniper berries, citrus, dried fruits, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and spicy alcohol. A rich, malty profile usually provides a balance for spices and holiday-inspired ingredients, and special additions of fermentable sugars could include molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, honey or candy sugar. Toffee, biscuity, toasty, nutty or mild chocolate notes can provide a deep, malty, sweet character.

Balance and approachability form key goals in the production of an outstanding winter seasonal beer. Malt notes, special ingredients, any spices and underlying hops should work together in the creation of harmonious and appealing aroma and flavor profiles. Imagine a Christmas beer that’s too syrupy and cloying or a spiced ale with an overload of nutmeg or cinnamon. Too much of any one component can be overwhelming and detrimental to the beer’s overall appeal.

Winter ales should also deliver the aromas and flavors that are listed on the label. If the holiday beer claims to be based on a classic style, then the classic style should come through and not be smothered by special ingredients. If the beer is made with Belgian yeast, a pleasant, fruity, Belgian ester character should be present, alongside any fruit or spices. If the ale contains juniper, one should definitely pick up a light balance of this character in the nose and on the tongue.

A classic American example that began in 1975, Anchor Christmas (a.k.a. “Our Special Ale”) is known for its distinctive labels that have been hand drawn by the same artist since 1975 and showcase a different tree species each year. The recipe of this fascinating ale varies from year to year but always includes an appealing balance of dark malts, interesting hops and hints of spice and piney resins. Even though the beer’s alcohol content comes in at moderate levels, some aficionados insist on cellaring bottles for years, often with surprisingly interesting results.

Just a few of the many American winter ales worthy of sniffing and sipping include the piney, ruby-colored Deschutes Jubelale that comes wrapped in artsy, winter-themed labels; Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi strong golden ale made with Frankincense and Myrrh; SweetWater Festive dark ale spiced with cinnamon and mace; and Heavy Seas Yule Tide – a rum barrel-aged, boozy ale that changes style with each annual release.

With a few hopped-up exceptions such as Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and BrewDog Hoppy Christmas, winter seasonals tend to exhibit malty, sweet profiles with subdued hop presence. Warming alcohol usually imparts pleasing palate notes and a viscous, piquant, satisfying finish in many examples.

As mentioned earlier, Christmas beers made in the UK tend to leave out spices but include higher levels of malt, body and alcohol than standard, sessionable pub ales. These stronger brews are usually bottled and consumed during social gatherings and celebrations during the colder months. Most pub regulars in the UK would balk at the idea of ordering an imperial pint of 7% ABV winter beer, but splitting a 16-ounce bottle between friends on a frigid evening makes perfect sense.

TIME OUT

Have you heard about Adolph, the brown-nosed reindeer?
He can run as fast as Rudolph, he just can’t stop as fast.

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