THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1548 – Posted on: 28-September-2020
BREWERY “HOP”PENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available Upendi Pineapple Passion Fruit Ale, Fleck’s Czech Dark Lager (aged for an incredible seven months), Premium Pale Ale and Two Sons Milk Stout are currently on tap. There are also batches of Chinook ESB and Blackberry Mead working their way through the brewery.
The mornings and evenings are certainly becoming cooler but some cozy Bushwakker gear will stave off the chill. You too can be as toasty as Shauna! Visit https://bushwakker.com/wakker-wear-promo-merch/ to view our full merchandise lineup.
Our final proposed regular 2020 season gourmet Burger & a Pint Special will be offered on October 23rd and 24th. The late Bushwakker co-founder & president, Bev Robertson, always humourously referred to this one as our TABBY BURGER & A PINT! Enjoy for only $19.95.
This weekend’s September 25th & September 26th Special Dining Feature is THAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY for $16.95. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL for $21.95 will also be available.
Our SEPTEMBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES are Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone Rouge from France. Both are $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
In addition to taking our beer home in glass bottles, 2 litre jugs and growler fills direct from our pub, you can find a varying selection of 650 ml bottles of Bushwakker beer in ALL SIX REGINA SLGA stores, as well as METRO LIQUOR REGINA.
BUSHWAKKER GIFT CARDS are available in $25, $50 and $100 denominations. Give us a call at 306-359-7276 or stop by to get yours. They work very well with all dine-in or takeout food and craft beer desires!
Bushwakker Oktoberfest Week: October 5th – 10th. The official Oktoberfest in Munich has been cancelled due to the pandemic but the Bushwakker week long Oktoberfest celebration will go ahead. Enjoy a variety of unique German-themed meal specials all week long as well as a one litre stein of our special order Hacker Pshorr Munich Gold German Lager. This is one of the six official Oktoberfest breweries. Prosit!
BUSHWAKKER “NEW NORMAL” NOTES
Our weekend hours of operation will be changing beginning on Friday, October 2nd. Fridays and Saturdays we will open earlier at 11:00 AM and close later at 10:00 PM. Kitchen will close at 9:00 PM. Our Monday to Thursday hours remain unchanged and are 11:30 AM until 9:00 PM and the kitchen closes at 8:00 PM. We are still closed on Sundays at this time. Our takeout food and beer services will continue to be made available.
Please remember that reservations are accepted and are encouraged for any time and on any day so give us a call at 306-359-7276 to secure your table. Please note under current guidelines the maximum number of people who can be seated at the same table is limited to six. Larger reservations must occupy more than one table and maintain physical distancing between each table.
Please continue to practice safe health and social distancing practices. Remain connected to one another and to us! In addition to this weekly newsletter, we are very active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check-in with us often as we navigate these continually evolving times together. Try to support local businesses whenever possible. Be vigilant in your resolve to protect yourselves which in turn will protect others. Please don’t let your guard DOWN so the province can continue to open UP! Bring on Phase 5!
Alberta Breweries Make a Big Statement at Canadian Brewing Awards
Editor’s Note: Although The Bushwakker did not participate in this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards due to brewery challenges associated with the pandemic, we were pleased to see former Bushwakker head brewer, Mitch Dalrymple, take home two gold and two silver medals for his Medicine Hat Brewing Company. We also offer congratulations to Regina’s District Brewing Company, Pile O’ Bones Brewing Company and Warehouse Brewing Company who all took home medals as well as Saskatoon’s 9 Mile Legacy Brewing and Nokomis Craft Ales.
By Jason Foster
The results of the 2020 Canadian Brewing Awards came out this past weekend, and the big surprise of the night was the number of medals scooped up by Alberta breweries. Alberta-based breweries won 38 medals, including 17 golds, and Calgary’s Common Crown Brewing won Brewery of the Year. Alberta’s medal haul was 23% of medals available (165).
The 2020 results are a marked change from previous years, where Alberta breweries were, in general, under-represented on the medal podium. Over the last three years, Alberta breweries won 9, 8 and 17 medals, respectively. Even more interesting is that this year’s medals were spread among 19 different breweries (10 of whom won multiple medals).
I think this is a significant result. It is a clear statement that Alberta has joined Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia as one of the senior beer jurisdictions in the country. Alberta breweries won the second most number of medals both in raw numbers and per capita (see table below). (In the interests of speed I just went with population rather than number of breweries.)
| British Columbia | 43 | 0.84 |
| Alberta | 38 | 0.89 |
| Saskatchewan | 5 | 0.42 |
| Manitoba | 1 | 0.07 |
| Ontario | 35 | 0.24 |
| Quebec | 25 | 0.29 |
| Nova Scotia | 7 | 0.70 |
| New Brunswick | 6 | 0.75 |
| PEI | 5 | 3.33 |
Of course the big story from the table is the insane win rate for PEI breweries. Five medals for a province with nine breweries is quite remarkable (the fact the island province has nine breweries is also a story in and of itself). But the point I want to make is that there are clearly four provinces that win most of the medals at the awards.
Of course, this makes perfect sense as they are the four largest provinces, but up until this year, the CBAs had a big three. This is the first time Alberta elbows its way into that first tier. It is, of course, only one year and a single incident is not a pattern. I will go out on a limb and suggest that we will see this replicated, to a greater or lesser extent, going forward.
Why? Because the Alberta craft beer industry has matured quickly. The massive growth of new breweries over the past five years (from less than two dozen to over 150 in that time span) has been unparalleled in the country. That rapid growth has also shortened the maturation phase. There is naturally a phase in craft beer where just being is a success. Customers are grateful for local options and their palates are not yet well developed (at times). Over time, increased competition, evolving customer tastes and more experienced brewers leads to an improvement in quality. Being local stops being enough. The beer has to also be good.
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TIME OUT – A Lexophile’s Dream – Part 2
• I know a guy who’s addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
• I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
• This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’d never met herbivore.
• When chemists die, they barium.
• I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can’t put it down.
• I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
• I didn’t like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
