THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1566 – Posted on: 01-February-2021
BREWERY “HOP”PENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our seasonally available Red Currant Ale, Premium Pale Ale, Chinook ESB and 30th Anniversary American Barleywine are currently on tap! There are also 13 other year round brews to choose from making a total of 17 Bushwakker brews currently available.
Thank you to the so many of you who stopped by last Saturday to pick up some of our 30th Anniversary limited edition American Barleywine bottles. The first 200 bottles sold in just a couple of hours and the remaining 100 sold throughout the afternoon. We’ll have our two and a half year old American Barleywine (12.6%) on tap for a few weeks for you to enjoy inside YOUR Bushwakker!
FEBRUARY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. The red is Beauty in Chaos Cabernet sauvignon from Washington State. The white is Les Fleurs Du Mal Cotes De Gascogne from France. Both are $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
This weekend’s Special Dining Feature on January 29th and 30th is a KOREAN CHICKEN BURGER for $18.95. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL for $21.95 will also be available.
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.
Next Friday we celebrate the birthday of the late Bev Robertson. Bev was our co-founder and president as well as the co-founder of the top ranked ALES homebrewing club. Bev is regarded by many as being Saskatchewan’s Craft Beer Pioneer. Join us in this day of celebration by enjoying some of Bev’s favorite dishes and drinks. Reservations accepted!
BUSHWAKKER “NEW NORMAL” NOTES
Our Hours of Operation are Monday to Thursday from 11:30 AM until 9:00 PM and the kitchen closes at 8:00 PM. Fridays and Saturdays we open at 11:00 AM and close at 10:00 PM. Kitchen closes at 9:00 PM. We are still closed on Sundays at this time. Our takeout food and beer services will continue to be made available.
Reservations are accepted and encouraged. We accept reservations as late as 6:00 PM from Monday to Saturday. Call at 306-359-7276 to secure your table. Please note under the new provincial guidelines the maximum number of people who can be seated at the same table is now limited to four. Larger reservations must occupy more than one table and maintain three meters of 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 open back UP!
It has been a while since Chef Mike has had the opportunity to showcase his skills by offering a fancier meal. Last Saturday’s 30th Anniversary Coffee-Rubbed Bison Tenderloin was definitely a dish for the history books! We can’t wait to see his Saturday, February 13th Valentine’s Dinner offering!
We apologize to our customers who were unable to make a reservation. We found that all our allocated tables were reserved a few days prior to the event. Because of this high demand, we were also unable to make this meal available for takeout until our in-house dining customer’s orders had be taken first. Just one of the many little challenges associated with operating a brewpub with limited capacity during a pandemic.
Sask. Artist Doesn’t let Visual Impairment get in the way of his Drawing
Dustin Ritter, who has macular dystrophy, has made a career out of his art and teaching others
By: Heidi Atter CBC News
Dustin Ritter, a portrait artist in Regina, has an eye condition that makes some tasks, such as reading a recipe, difficult. He uses drawing as an escape. (Heidi Atter/CBC)
As Dustin Ritter picks up his pencil and starts to draw, he immediately breaks into a smile. The portrait artist may not see perfectly, but his pencil lines are clear and purposeful.
“I think people are really surprised that I can draw because of my condition and, again, I have to explain how it works for me,” he said. “I do have what people call an invisible disability.”
Ritter said it can take him hours to complete a piece — longer than it would other artists — but his time spent drawing isn’t wasted.
“I want people to feel as good as I did making it when they get it. And I guess just to explain to them that I enjoyed the process so much because it helped me centre myself.”
Ritter has a type of macular dystrophy. It’s a blind spot in the centre of each eye that affects his perception of details and depth. His ophthalmologist has told him it’s not the typical type of macular dystrophy as his eyes don’t seem to be getting worse with age.
Despite having the blind spot since he was a young child, Ritter has been drawing for as long as he can remember.
With his condition, Ritter has to create his artwork differently than others. He can’t work with a live model and instead uses reference images that he can hold close to his face to see the details.
He said his eye condition is something other people point out more than he notices it himself.
“Like, I won’t notice that I’m holding my phone right in front of my face until someone says that. And I’m like, ‘You don’t do that?'” Ritter said with a laugh. “I think you get so used to doing things a certain way that you have your routines.”
As a teenager, Ritter moved away from drawing, thinking he needed to get a “real job.” In 2018, he rediscovered his passion and started drawing again, “just for therapeutic reasons, like wanting to just draw and relax. Now I’m fully addicted to doing it again, and it’s been a really good time.”
Ritter said drawing offers him something to focus on and helps counteract anxiety, but more than that, it offers him a purpose.
“Drawing was always a kind of escape for me,” Ritter said. “I can put a lot of time into that where other things are more of a challenge and more of a chore.”
For example, Ritter said cooking can be a struggle as he needs to read ingredient lists or small print. When other things are frustrating, that’s when he turns to drawing.
Two years and hundreds of commissions later, the 37-year-old has made artwork his career. He has a month-long exhibit up at Bushwakker Brewpub in Regina.
Ritter currently has an exhibit at Bushwakker Brewpub on Dewdney Avenue in Regina. (Heidi Atter/CBC)
For commissions and his latest exhibit, Ritter has been creating custom frames with the help of his dad. They use wood from their family farm, where a 100-year-old barn recently blew over, and they also salvaged pieces from an old grain elevator.
On top of doing commissions, Ritter teaches art classes at the Paper Crane Community Art Centre in Regina and tutorials for Ranch Ehrlo Society youth. Ritter also does client-centred murals where he sketches out the mural and the youth help fill it in.
“Being a person with a disability, it makes it easier for me to work with someone with a disability because I can kind of empathize with them and realize how scary it is for them to start something,” Ritter said.
“I think everyone has a fear of starting something because you won’t be good at it, right? So if someone else kind of starts it for you and gives you the tools to do it on your own, you can still feel good with the finished product.”
Ritter credits Bushwakker for good exposure, hopes to continue doing murals and challenging himself to grow as an artist.
“Art is kind of like music, where everyone can kind of enjoy it and get some sort of fulfilment out of it,” Ritter said. “It’s something that drives me to do it more because I feel it does help people who need it.”
TIME OUT – Free Cruise to Italy
The young woman was absolutely gorgeous, but depressed. She walked to the Vancouver docks where she planned to end her life by drowning herself in the ocean. As she prepared to throw herself from the docks, a handsome young man stopped her and explained “You could have so much to live for, if you set goals. I’m a sailor and we are off to Italy tomorrow. I could stow you away on our ship and take care of you for the entire voyage. I would bring you food daily and keep you happy.”
With nothing to lose, combined with the fact that she had always desired to go to Italy, the woman accepted. That night the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a small yet comfortable compartment in the hold. Every night he appeared with three sandwiches along with a bottle of red wine. After eating, they would make passionate love until dawn. Three weeks later she was discovered during a routine inspection, then brought before the captain of the vessel.
“What are you doing here?” asked the captain.
“I have an arrangement with one of the crew,” she replied.
“He brings me food and I get a free trip to Italy.”
“I see,” the captain says.
Her conscience got the best of her and she added, “Plus, he’s screwing me.”
“He certainly is,” replied the captain. “This is the Nanaimo Ferry.”
Although all 300 bottles of our 30th Anniversary American Barleywine sold out in one day, we are still serving this incredibly rich and complex brew on tap. It has been aged for almost two and a half years and at 12.6% ABV, it is the strongest brew ever produced in our three decades of operation. Come enjoy a contemplative goblet or two while supplies last!
