THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1515 – Posted on: 10-Feb-2020
BUSHWAKKER NEWS
NEWS FROM THE BREWERY! Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available BLACKBERRY MEAD, DOUBLE HONEY IMPERIAL IRISH RED ALE, SASKADIAN BLACK IPA, KAI’S MUNICH HELLES and CRANBERRY BLONDE ALE are currently on tap. There are also batches of RASPBERRY BLONDE ALE, TWO SON’S MILK STOUT, SWEET TART CHERRY DRY STOUT, PREMIUM PALE ALE and ARCTIC DARK MUNICH DUNKEL working their way through the brewery.
Our February Valentine’s month Premium Wine Features include THE LONG LITTLE DOG white wine from France ($7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre) and the GNARLY HEAD old vine zinfandel from California ($8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.)
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring a CRANBERRY SAISON from Swift Current’s Black Bridge Brewery. Next up is a WINTER KETTLE SOUR from Nokomis Craft Ales. This will be followed by a DUNKELWEIZEN from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing, a DOUBLE IPA from Black Bridge and then a RASPEBERRY KIWI SOUR IPA from Malty National.
THE BUSHWAKKER GOODNESS IS SPREADING! ALL SIX REGINA SLGA stores offer a varied selection of Bushwakker beers in 650 ml 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.
The Bushwakker LOCAL ARTIST WALL for the month of February features the works of HALEY GARTNER. Her artist biography is as follows:
Art has always been a way for me to express myself when I can’t find the right words. Starting with oil paintings as an undergrad and now developing into digital illustrations. My current work is focused on strong, diverse and passionate women who fight for women’s rights across the world. Personally, I struggle with body confidence and find great strength in the women who own their bodies and help others to find the strength within themselves to do the same. I am hoping that with my illustrations I can help everyone love and accept themselves and want to own how gorgeous they are inside and out. Currently I do freelance illustrations while working as a full time graphic designer at Ayden Creative! Check out my Instagram account to follow along with my illustrations and creative process @haley.gartner
BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
Feb. 7: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY. A decades-old Bushwakker tradition! A piper from the Regina Police Services Pipes and Drums leads a keg of special brew in a procession throughout the brewpub. A guest volunteer is selected to wield the handmade wooden maul affectionately referred to as The Mighty Firkin Wakker and attempt to tap the firkin in one mighty blow. This month firkin offering is a ESPRESSO COFFEE SASKADIAN BLACK IPA. A unique collaboration we created with Regina’s Caliber Coffee Roasters. The delicious suds-soaking experience takes place at 5:30 PM.
Feb. 8: SASKATCHEWAN CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL. The first ever Regina craft beer festival hosted by the Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association! Showcasing truly unique beers brewed by independent breweries across Saskatchewan. Host venue is the German Club. Tickets are $25 available online at Eventbrite. 4:00 PM
Feb. 9: CECILIAN CHAMBER SERIES STEAK NIGHT FUNDRAISER. Enjoy a small Saskatchewan Hot Plate and a half pint of any regular Bushwakker beer plus a performance from the Trent Reschny Quartet. Raffle draws and 50/50. 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM. Tickets are only $35 each and are available at www.cecilianchamberseries.ca
Feb. 10: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. 8’s ENUFF. Powerhouse mini big band delivers intense jazz and swing. 8:00 PM.
Feb. 12: Wednesday Night Folk. THE LINCOLN LOGGERS. Lively music from this lumberjack-themed group. 8:00 PM.
Feb: 13: SCIENCE PUB – “My hormones made me do it: the truth about PMS.” 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 room opens at 5:00 PM. 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. Jennifer Gordon, Department of Psychology, University of Regina, CIHR Canada Research Chair in Women’s Mental Health. Popular opinion suggests that most, if not all, women suffer from moderate to severe premenstrual syndrome (a.k.a. PMS), becoming emotionally sensitive, irritable, and irrational for several days out of every month. To what extent is this view correct? How much do hormones like estrogen and progesterone really affect women’s daily mood? Come to this talk to find out what science has to say on the matter!
Feb. 14: Bushwakker Vintage Valentines Dinner. Enjoy our Retro Romantic Menu featuring some classic courtship cuisine including: Steak Madagascar, Stuffed Cornish Game Hen, Shrimp Scampi, Bibb Green Goddess Salad, Chocolate Silk Cheesecake and Mini Baked Alaska. Fancy-schmancy restaurants may be the choice destination for some folks. Others who prefer great value and delicious food in a comforting and cozy setting often prefer to have their Valentine’s experience with us. Full regular menu also available. RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED!
Feb. 17: FAMILY DAY. Open from noon to nine. No band tonight.
Feb. 19: Wednesday Night Folk. BRADFORD. Talented acoustic guitar/vocal duo featuring Brad Papp and Mark Radford. 8:00 PM.
Feb. 22: SASK SAMPLER. The biggest Bushwakker Folk Night of the year! Up-and-coming folk artists from across the province strut their stuff are vying for a spot on the Regina Folk Festival, Ness Creek Music Festival and Gateway Music Festival stages. It’s not Folk Band Warz but it is a great night of Saskatchewan musical talent. Cover charge in effect. 7:00 PM.
Feb. 23: BUSHWAKKER MONTHLY SUNDAY BOOK SIGNING SERIES. Celebrating Saskatchewan Authors. Join us for a brief presentation by our featured authors and an opportunity to buy an autographed copy! The January edition will feature two local published writers, C.D. Breadner and Edward Willett. 3:00 PM.
Feb. 24: Monday Night Jazz & Blues – special Mid-Summer Blues Festival Week edition. SHANE & ETHAN REOCH. Popular talented father & son blues duo returns! 8:00 PM.
Feb. 26: Wednesday Night Folk – special Mid-Winter Blues Festival Week edition. AZARIAH. Four-piece blues act lays down some traditional, soulful, rockin’ blues. 8:00 PM.
The Mystery of the Banded Peak Buy-Out
By: Jason Foster
Very recently news broke that Calgary’s Banded Peak Brewing was being purchased by AB-Inbev (ABI), the world’s largest brewing corporation. Details on the deal remain scant (and likely will for a long time). The Banded Peak boys released a statement with the usual glowing optimism and lack of detail that comes with these deals and ABI is, as usual, remaining mute. (Media reports are saying that Labatt was the buyer but I refuse to be fooled by the ruse – Labatt is ABI’s wholly owned Canadian arm.)
However, many questions abound. There was widespread surprise across the industry at this announcement. Not that ABI had bought a small craft brewery – there have been rumours for weeks now that they have been trying to land a deal with someone – but at WHICH brewery ended up being their target. Had there been a betting line, Banded Peak would be an odds-maker’s nightmare.
I don’t have any firm answers (as I say lots of sealed lips), but I put on my thinking cap to try to make sense of this. Let me explore the what, the why and the what does it mean questions.
First, for those not familiar with Banded Peak, they are a small Calgary-based craft brewery that opened in 2016 in what is now known as the Barley Belt. Three homebrewing friends – Alex Horner, Colin McLean and Matthew Berard – were the force behind it. The brewery quickly built a reputation for solidly made beer and strong marketing around an outdoors-based theme.
The what behind the deal is partially known. We know it is a complete buy-out, but that ABI will keep the three owners and staff around to operate the brewery. For now. We have seen this play out elsewhere. Often the original owners drift away after some time, for a range of reasons. It is, obviously, too early to know if that will be the case here.
The price tag is undisclosed but I would be floored to hear it was more than a couple million – which is chump change for ABI. But that alone gives us our first answer to why the deal went down. Banded Peak was financed through a combination of self-financing and a start-up loan. I am not privy to Banded Peak’s books, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, despite (and maybe because) of early success, cash flow was a challenge.
But mostly you can’t blame three young business-savvy guys to see the offer sheet, recognize the HUGE return on initial investment it represented and sign before it went away.
The why on Banded Peak’s side is easy to assess. The harder question is why ABI wanted a young start-up rather than one of a handful of more established breweries in the province. Banded Peak produced about 3,000 hectolitres last year (the Edmonton Labatt plant can produce four times that in a day). This purchase is really small potatoes for ABI. So why?
I can only guess, but my theory is that they wanted a brand they could mould and grow. Banded Peak’s brand has tonnes of latent value – quality product, interesting back story, good packaging, growing reputation – but it would have taken the three founders years to translate that into sales and actual value. The brewhouse is small (10hl if my old notes are accurate), but still has lots of capacity in it to triple or quadruple in size (although I wouldn’t be surprised if they soon upgrade the equipment).
In short with an injection of cash, Banded Peak could grow to rival some of the more established Alberta players in a relatively short time frame. And that is the value for ABI. Plus, it gives them a spot in the trendy Barley Belt, alongside some of Calgary’s most respected breweries, which cannot be under-estimated.
Plus, I think Sapporo’s purchase of Wildrose last year increased the pressure to buy into the burgeoning Calgary market. This deal is not about Annex, Dandy, or Village (sorry guys), although stealing a bit of their business is a nice side benefit. It is about the longer game of keeping up with the other big boys in the ongoing struggle to infiltrate the craft segment.
I think for ABI, Banded Peak is a bit of a gamble, but one with fairly low stakes. They are banking they can accelerate its growth without undercutting its reputation as a good craft brewery. Time will tell.
Finally, what does this latest deal mean for the craft beer industry in Alberta?
In short, nothing we didn’t already know. Sure, it sucks to see a good local brewery with potential sucked into the Borg that is ABI. But the big boys have been buying up craft breweries for a decade now – just, until recently, not in Alberta. They are playing a long term game and Alberta has finally hit their radar as a place they need to engage. So, first, that highlights how much Alberta’s craft segment has grown in the past few years. Second, we need to see this as a rearguard action – a defensive move.
There will be more acquisitions in Alberta. Mark my words. How effective will they be at eating into the growing craft segment? I don’t know. That answer will be determined by consumers.
TIME OUT- YET ONE MORE DOCTOR STORY
A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office.
After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, “Your husband is suffering from a very severe stress disorder. If you don’t do the following, your husband will surely die.”
“Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant at all times.
For lunch make him a nutritious meal. For dinner prepare an especially nice meal for him. Don’t burden him with chores. Don’t discuss your problems with him, it will only make his stress worse.
No nagging. And most importantly, make love with your husband several times a week. If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely.”
On the way home, the husband asked his wife. “What did the doctor say?”
“He said you’re going to die,” she replied.
Our February 7th-9th Weekend Special Dining Feature is a Deluxe Prime Rib Burger. $19.95
Soup & Sandwich Special is $13.95. All hot specials are $16.95, except where noted, & include a serving of soup du jour, house, or Caesar salad.
Friday February 7 – 2020
Soup – Split Pea & Ham
Sandwich – Cod Burger
Hot Special – Roast Porkloin w/ Apple Mashed Potato
Beer Pairing – Saskadian Black IPA
Saturday February 8 & Sunday February 9 – 2020
Soup – Bushwakker
Sandwich – Prime Rib Pretzel Bun
Hot Special – Steak & a Pint. $21.95
Monday February 10 – 2020
Soup – Minestrone
Sandwich – Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
Hot Special – Blackened Chicken Fettucine
Beer Pairing – Dungarvon Irish Red Ale
Evening Feature – Wings & a Pint Night
Tuesday February 11 – 2020
Soup – Caldo De Pollo
Pizza Feature – Pulled Pork Calzone
Hot Special – Hanger Steak Noddle Bowl
Beer Pairing – Palliser Porter
Evening Feature – Pizza & a Pint Night
Wednesday February 12 – 2020
Soup – Beef Noodle
Sandwich – Roast Veggie Wrap
Hot Special – Pork Pot Pie
Beer Pairing – Sodbuster Brown Ale
Evening Feature – Wings & a Pint Night
Thursday February 13- 2020
Soup – Cajun Seafood
Sandwich – Pacific Chicken Burger
Hot Special – Jamaican Beef Curry
Beer Pairing – Saskadian Black IPA
Friday February 14 – 2020
Soup – Jalapeno Corn Chowder
Sandwich – Chipotle Beef Wrap
Hot Special – Chicken Enchiladas
Beer Pairing – Regina Pale Ale
Saturday February 15 & Sunday February 16 – 2020
Soup – Bushwakker
Sandwich – Ham & Cheese Muffaletta
Hot Special – Steak & a Pint. $21.95
We strive to ensure all weekly specials and soups are made available. Product shortages or unforeseen circumstances may result in modification or even substitution of certain featured menu items.
