THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1568 – Posted on: 15-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.
Please note we will be closed for Family Day on Monday, February 15th.
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 February 12th and 13th is a CURRY CHICKEN BREAST W/ BASMATI 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.
The BUSHWAKKER LOCAL ARTS WALL February featured artist is HALEY NICOLSON.
Body positivity means celebration in the face of a world that doesn’t recognize the beauty in bodies like mine.
– Keah Brown
In a world where we’ve been force-fed from a young age a constantly changing form of what “normal” or “perfect” should look like, with many of us believing we don’t fit into this mold, being ourselves never stood a chance. Add to that our deep-rooted cultural behaviour in being self-deprecating and you’re left with a pretty unhealthy mindset. Not only are we convinced that we don’t fit in but we compound the problem by putting ourselves down because of it.
My work focuses on the belief that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society views their ideal shape, size, and appearance. These illustrations are of all shapes and sizes and I hope people can see them and start to adjust their body expectations. We should all feel more positive and accepting of our bodies – let’s break the vicious cycle of body shame.
Check out my Instagram account to follow along with my illustrations and creative process @haley.gartner
Enjoy Haley’s inspirational works all this month!
BUSHWAKKER “NEW NORMAL” NOTES
We appreciate your business very much! Due to our greatly reduced seating capacity, we ask that customers limit their dining time so as many people as possible can comfortably enjoy our Real Saskatchewan Brewpub Experience; especially if we have a line-up! Thank you for your co-operation and support.
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!
This year’s Valentine’s Dinner will also be available for pre-order takeaway by visiting our website. Deadline for pre-orders has been extended and is now at noon on February 12th. Just visit https://bushwakker.com/product/valentines-dinner/ or click on the Valentines Dinner button at www.bushwakker.com You can select the time you would like to pick up your meal and even select a Bushwakker brew or two and one of our Valentines dessert features! Two in-house dining supper seatings are also available. Call 306-359-7276 to reserve your table today.
2021 BUSHWAKKER VALENTINES DINNER MENU
Available for dine-in or takeout. $42.95 person
STARTER: Choice of Romaine Heart Caesar Salad or Curried Red Lentil Butternut Squash soup with papadum chips.
MAIN COURSE: Steak Neptune. An 8 oz. AAA Black Angus New York strip with jumbo shrimp and Béarnaise sauce. Served with Potato Pave and Chef’s Vegetable Medley.
OPTIONAL VALENTINE DESSERTS. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake or Peach Upside Down Cake with Vanilla Bourbon Pecan Ice Cream. $8.95
PRAIRIE DOG MAGAZINE BEST OF FOOD 2021 nominations are now open! We’ve got some tasty new categories on the menu for you to weigh in on while a few others are taking a break this year. The open nomination round runs through March 15th with top nominees moving onto the voting round on March 22. So sharpen up your keyboards, make your picks and show some love for your favourites in our local food and beverage community. https://prairiedogmag.com/best-of-food-2021/#//
Fundraising Opportunity! Although we have suspended our in-house Steak Night Fundraisers, we now offer a unique PIZZA & A “PINT” takeout fundraising event on Mondays. Pizza & Pint Pick Up. BUSHWAKKER AWARD-WINNING PUB PIZZAS! Prepared with our own handmade herbed pizza crust. 8” on regular thickness crust with hearty toppings! (Typically feeds 1-2 ppl). Includes your choice of one 650ml bottle of Bushwakker beer!
Learn more or register your group for a hassle-free and unique fundraising experience at Bushwakker Brewing: Pizza & Pint Pick Up | Fundraisn
A Commonwealth is Formed
By Jason Foster at onbeer.org
There is a new empire in the province and it is one that I think most craft beer consumers will be happy to obey. Craft Beer Commonwealth (CBC) is a new and creative beer project that both shows the growing maturity of the Alberta beer scene and offers a fascinating spark of imagination.
I recently profiled CBC on my CBC radio column (oh my, that is confusing).
In short, CBC (the brewery) is a project of three Alberta beer-related companies: Blindman Brewing, Red Hart Brewing and Red Shed Malting. The three Red Deer and area companies have combined forces to create a brand new brewery operation with a very specific goal: promote and celebrate central Alberta’s contributions to beer.
There appear to be two aspects to the project. The anchor is the opening of a brewery and tap room in a new indoor farmers’ market in Red Deer. The Gasoline Alley Farmers’ Market opened its doors in the fall along (surprise!) Gasoline Alley, the strip on Highway 2 as it passes the south end of Red Deer known by most for its gas stations, fast food restaurants and the occasional RV dealer, although it has begun developing into a retail and commercial hub. The small 2-Barrel brewhouse (repurposed from Red Shed) will produce beer to be sold at the market tap room. The tap room will also serve beer made by the 12 breweries located on the Highway 2 corridor between Leduc and Airdrie. It will also produce collaboration beer among the region’s breweries.
Part two is a focus on educating consumers about central Alberta’s vibrant beer-related industry. It has launched with a collaboration beer, available province-wide, that included every brewery in the region. Landlock Ale is a tongue-in-cheek take on Pacific Ale originating in Australia using only Australian/New Zealander ingredients. It uses only ingredients grown and processed in central Alberta, including the hops.
The market brewery will only use central Alberta ingredients as much as possible (local hops can be a challenge still), including fruit and other items sold by producers at the market. It will regularly produce collaboration beer with other central Alberta breweries, along with serving beer from each of those breweries.
If this sounds like a central Alberta lovefest, you would be right. But it is more than that. It is a conscious effort to educate consumers not just on craft beer (a noble project on its own) but on how those consumers’ home is essential to craft beer. To this end it achieves two goals simultaneously. First, it creates more craft beer fans by introducing them to beer they might not seek out on their own. Buying a pint after purchasing the weekly vegetables is an easy and fun activity and having all of those beer come from local breweries increases the visibility of the breweries.
Second, it makes visible the economic contribution the beer industry makes to their home region. By explicitly linking beer to local farmers and other local producers, it demonstrates how the industry is a form of economic diversification and job creation.
Pretty clever if you ask me.
TIME OUT – Marriage Quotes Part 2
Young son: “Is it true Dad that in some parts of Africa a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her?”
Dad: “That happens in every country son.”
There was a woman who said, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married, and by then, it was too late.”
If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, just talk in your sleep.
Just think, if it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.
First guy: “My wife’s an angel!”
Second guy: “You’re lucky, mine’s still alive.”
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a big gut, and still think they are attractive to the opposite sex.
As we continue to celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, we reflect on some of the beers which have made a significant contribution in our evolution. The Bushwakker is no stranger to hop-forward beers. One of our original six Bushwakker beers was Granny’s Bitter. This was definitely the hoppiest beer being served in Regina back in 1991. This was soon followed by other seasonally available hoppy brews including our Chinook Extra Special Bitter and then our Bombay IPA. These ales were all considered to be “hophead delights” but they were all English-style bitter ales. It wasn’t until a few years later when we introduced our CHICO PALE ALE that our customers became acquainted with the more aggressive nature of the North American hop varieties, particularly those grown in the Pacific Northwest. The resiny, pine-like aromas and citrusy, grapefruit hop flavours created a new beer experience for the Regina craft beer drinker. As the popularity of this North American brew continued to grow, so did its hop aroma, bitterness and flavour intensity. Soon the West Coast-style IPA had undeniably become the most popular craft beer style. Not wanting to be left behind, our late co-founder and president, Bev Robertson, worked with then Bushwakker head brewer, Mitch Dalrymple, in “stepping-up” our Chico Pale Ale recipe. The resulting beer possessed much more of the signature West Coast IPA hop character and became our CHICO IPA. The evolution of this Bushwakker beer continued further and possesses even more hop character due to the fact that our IPA is now circulated for 96 hours through our hop torpedo which is stuffed full of whole hops. Chico is the name of the small California city reputed as being the birthplace of the beer style. When the West coast IPA was first gaining popularity, it was considered by some as being the choice craft beer style among loyal fans of the endlessly-touring psychedelic rock band, The Grateful Dead. This psychedelic nature was captured in the label designed by local artist and illustrator, Gavin De Lint. We adore the peace-sign waving California surfer sporting a hop cone head under a grapefruit sun immersed in groovy psychedelic colours. Our Chico IPA continues to be one of our most popular brews today.