THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1606 – Posted on: 8-November-2021
BREWERY “HOP”PENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports his very popular Blood Orange Blonde Ale is now on tap and in our offsale! A batch of Dark Cherry & Blackberry Ale is also working its way through the brewery. Of course we are busy filling the final bottles of our famous Blackberry Mead getting ready for its annual release on Saturday, December 4th.
Growler fills are available and we have partially resumed our customer personal keg filling services. Lager keg fills are not available at this time but all Bushwakker ales are available. Our lagers need a couple more weeks of aging time before they will be ready.
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring a LEMON LIME IPA from Black Bridge Brewery. Next up is a CASCADIAN DARK ALE from Nokomis Craft Ales.
In addition to taking our beer home in glass bottles and 2 litre jugs direct from our pub, you can find a varying selection of 650 ml bottles of Bushwakker beer in ALL SIX REGINA SLGA stores.
We regret to announce that we will not be presenting our annual Single Malt Scotch Tasting event for the second year in a row. The uncertainty associated with the pandemic makes it very difficult to plan for any large events. Here’s hoping we can bring our big scotch tasting back in 2022!
NOVEMBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. Seeing as there will be no Bushwakker scotch tasting event this month, we thought we’d offer a scotch-inspired red. It is Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz from Australia. Finished in aged scotch whiskey barrels for added richness and complexity. The white is The Ned Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
Our Weekend Special on November 5th & 6th will be BISON RAVIOLI for $24.95. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL will also be available. Our Monday and Wednesday WINGS & A PINT SPECIAL and Tuesday PIZZA & A PINT SPECIAL are also a great value deal.
Our 2021 BLACKBERRY MEAD RELEASE DAY is only a month away! Our ADVANCE ONLINE CURBSIDE PICKUP ORDERING WEBPAGE is now active and is seeing plenty of activity! Visit bushwakker.com/mead2021 to place your mead orders. No standing in line and no long waits for a second year in a row. Just choose your pickup time, pull up to the rear of the building, pop open your trunk, we’ll load you up with bottles of mead and you drive away. Easy-peasy-meady-squeezie!
Our next monthly edition of FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY takes place on Friday, November 5th at 5:30 PM. A COLD-PRESSED ESPRESSO & VANILLA PORTER will be piped-in and tapped at 5:30! Plan to arrive early in order to get a good seat!
BUSHWAKKER “FOURTH WAVE – NEW NORMAL” NOTES
We are open Monday – Thursday from 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM. The kitchen closes at 9:30 PM and last call is at 10:15 PM. NEW! Fridays and Saturdays we are open from 11:00 AM until Midnight. The kitchen is open until 10:30 PM and last call is at 11:15 PM. Live music fans can enjoy our Monday Night Jazz & Blues and Wednesday Folk Night performances from 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
This fall the government of Saskatchewan announced that mandatory masking would return immediately to all indoor spaces. Please be sure you are wearing a mask upon entering and leaving Bushwakker and even if you just need to get up to use the washroom. Masks are not required when you are seated and are eating or drinking. If you forget to bring a mask, we can provide you with a new one. The government also recently expanded their proof of vaccination or a government recognized recent negative Covid test health order. This is now not only required for in-house dining but also for offsale beer purchases. Don’t delay and get your vaccination proof in order today!
Reservations are accepted and encouraged. We accept a limited number of reservations as late as 6:00 PM every day except Fridays. Fridays we accept reservations as late as 3:00 PM. Call us at 306-359-7276 to secure your table. We are now also able to accommodate larger groups. Our two banquet rooms are also available for private parties. Call Kelly at 306-359-7276 to book either our main floor Arizona Room or basement Clubroom.
Please continue to practice safe health measures. 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.
Nov. 8: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. BACK TO THE BLUES WITH THE REAL RON LOOS. This former frontman of Regina’s popular rock act, The Toasters, first began his music journey in the world of blues. A special show revisiting his humble beginnings. 8:00 – 10:00 PM.
Nov. 10: Wednesday Folk Night. THE LINCOLN LOGGERS. Lumberjack-themed group delivers their quirky unique brand of upbeat folk music. 8:00 – 10:00 PM.
Nov. 11: REMEMBRANCE DAY. Open from noon to nine.
Nov. 13: SASK VS EDMONTON. The final regular season Rider home game will see the Green & White host the newly rebranded Edmonton Elks at 3:00 PM. Enjoy our gourmet EDMONTON BURGER & A PINT for only $21.95. Come “devour” the competition!
Nov 19 – 27: AGRIBITION SALOON SERIES. Five Regina venues will offer Agribition-themed food & drinks specials. Knotted Thistle Pub, Victoria’s Tavern (both Downtown & North locations,) Cathedral Social Hall and The Bushwakker Brewpub. Each “Saloon hopper” participant presents their Saloon Postcard in order to receive a stamp at each venue. If the Saloon Hopper participant collects the four pub stamps they will receive a set of Agribition playing cards. They can then fill out the form located on the back of their postcard and will be entered in a draw to win an Agribition Saloon Series grand prize. The Bushwakker Agribition Saloon Series specials will be:
Agribition Meal Features:
The Prime Rib Cowboy Burger: A huge eight-ounce prime rib patty loaded up with maple peppered bacon, sautéed mushrooms, onion rings, jalapeno jack cheese, banana peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ancho chili BBQ sauce and chipotle mayo on a brioche bun. Served with our award-winning fries, Tossed or Caesar salad or our house-made Soup du Jour.
Black Angus Steak: A 10 ounce AAA Black Angus Ribeye steak charbroiled to your specifications and topped with sautéed button mushrooms and chimichurri sauce. Served with vegetable ratatouille your choice of western-cut fries or roasted garlic aged cheddar mashed potatoes. Starts with Tossed or Caesar salad or our house-made Soup du Jour.
Bushwakker Brewed Beer Features:
Stubblejumper Pilsener – a German-style Pilsener balanced towards bold hop character with a deep straw colour. Its name refers to a field of grain after harvest.
Sodbuster Brown Ale – a traditional Northern English Brown Ale with a toffee-like, lightly caramel character and a medium-dry hop finish.
Bushwakker Local Distillery Drink Features:
Last Mountain Distillery Single Cask Single Malt Whiskey – A brand new release!
Outlaw Trail Spirits Rum Runner – made with Rustler’s Reward spiced rum and cola with a lime twist.
Outlaw Trail Spirits Calamity Jane Ginger Pack Mule – made with ginger vodka, ginger ale and lime juice served in a copper mug.
Saskatchewan is home to some of Canada’s best craft beers. Craft breweries have revitalized Saskatchewan communities and neighbourhoods, and become a vital part of the province’s economy and culture. Plan your tour and visit one of the many breweries listed at https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/exploresask-craft-beer-flight Check in to all 13 locations and get a custom designed Little Town Apparel t-shirt.
Our new Bushwakker Online Ordering Page is now live on our website! You can order everything from our food menu as well as our Bushwakker brews and even select the time you’d like to pick up your order. Visit https://bushwakker.com/shop-2021/ and give it a try! Of course, you can continue to place your orders by calling us at 306-359-7276. We still love to hear your friendly voices.
What Determines the Color of Beer?
By: Josh Weikert
Did you know all beer is red? We don’t perceive all beer as red, of course, but deep down in its molecules, it is. Since all beer is red, what determines the color of beer?
Grain is by far the strongest coloring agent in beer, and grains are colored by melanin, a rust-red pigment that drives the color of beer. But what about Pale Ales and Imperial Stouts, you say? Some beers don’t appear red at all. As with most questions about beer, the answer involves chemistry – in fact, a number of factors can affect color, and we’ll take a closer look at all of them. We’ll also examine what beer color can (and can’t) cue us to expect in terms of flavor, as well as how beer color is measured and described.
The Chemistry of Color
Two chemical reactions make grains go from pale yellow to jet black: Maillard reactions and caramelization.
Maillard reactions are what you get when you start linking amino acids to sugars, usually prompted by the introduction of heat. The resulting combinations create a wide range of flavors and aromas and are associated with darkening color. Know it or not, you’ve been chasing and enjoying these flavors your whole life: the “browning” of grains in a kiln (and wort, in the boil) is the same process that steak or toast undergoes when heated. In beer, these Maillard reactions express most often as toasty flavors, but that’s far from exclusive: literally hundreds of perceptible flavors can be created in this process. Since the reactions generally occur at lower temperatures (100-200⁰ F, depending on the malt we’re developing), time becomes an important factor. Length and temperature of kilning can vary and create malts of the same color, but they may have different properties relevant to brewers (whether they can be converted in the mash, for example).
The second process – caramelization – is much simpler. Caramelization is what happens when you heat a sugar until it breaks apart. Grains don’t naturally contain sugar, though: we need to convert the starch in the grain into sugar, so the first step in the process is getting the grain wet and heating it to about 160⁰ F. At that temperature, you’re developing sugars inside the grain. The maltster will then ramp up the temperature to 220⁰ F or higher, and at that temperature you’re baking the sugars apart. The flavor compounds are exactly what you’d expect if you’ve ever tasted caramel: burnt sugar, butter, dark fruit and toffee. The longer the malts are caramelized, the darker they’ll get. All caramel malts contain also non-fermentable sugars, which will add flavor but not potential alcohol.
Finally, we have roasted or chocolate malts. Nothing complicated here: these are non-caramelized malts that are simply kilned at high temperatures until they’re roasted black. They add deep colors, and usually impart coffee, chocolate and even acrid/burnt notes.
Far and away, the malts chosen and their ratios within the recipe are the most important aspect of beer color. The darker the malts used, or the more pale malts used (the color builds, making the aggregate color darker), the darker the beer will be. Even small amounts of chocolate (roasted) malt will bring on rapid color shifts, while pale malts in sufficient quantities can still make for a very dark beer.
TIME OUT
This guy walks into the local bar one Friday afternoon when he gets out of work, as he steps up to the bar he sees his good friend Joe throw down two shots, he had a frown on his face.
“What’s with the long face Joe?” asked the guy.
Joe responds, “My wife told me today that she was only going to have sex with me on Mondays and Thursdays!”
“Well,” said the friend, “That’s not that bad, some of us she has cut off completely.”
Oregon craft breweries have always tended to “push” the envelope with their branding. This may be more of a “shove.”
