THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1613 – Posted on: 27-December-2021
Best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy holiday season from the management and staff of your Bushwakker Brewpub! 2021 was yet another challenging year for the entire hospitality industry but we are thankful that it was a vast improvement over the previous year. There are most certainly more Covid-related challenges to come and any long term event planning is currently not possible. At this time we reflect on this year (and try to forget about the extremely damaging spring Regina restaurant lockdown) and offer you our thanks for your continued enthusiastic support. So many of you are like extended family to so many of The Bushwakker staff. Over these last few months we have seen many people laughing, sharing stories and connecting over fine pub cuisine, Blackberry Mead and Bushwakker brews. It has been just like old times. It is through this connection we can appreciate what is truly important: family, friends, good health, a good laugh and being with one another in person and not via a screen. All the best to you and yours!
Bushwakker Holiday Hours
Fri. Dec. 24: Open 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sat. Dec. 25: Closed. Merry Christmas!
Fri. Dec. 31: Nothing For New Year’s 16. Our famous Prime Rib & Jumbo Yorkshire Pudding returns for one night only. Reserve your table now.
Sat. Jan. 1: Closed. Happy New Year!
BREWERY “HOP”PENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our famous Blackberry Mead and seasonally available Orangerine Fruit Beer are now on tap and in our offsale! Many customers have been asking if we have any mead bottles remaining after our annual Mead Day earlier this month. We brewed as much mead as we could this year so we do indeed have plenty of bottles available. We didn’t want any Bushwakker Blackberry Mead Lovers to go home empty-handed this year!
You can still have our holiday specialty brews this Christmas! Yes, there are indeed bottles of Blackberry Mead and our 30th Anniversary Barleywine in our offsale cooler. Come see us quick! Open limited hours on December 24th
The perfect last minute gift idea is a Bushwakker gift card! Available in $25, $50 and $100 denominations. An ideal stocking stuffer for the pub cuisine and craft beer lover on your list!
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring a TIRAMISU IMPERIAL MILK DESSERT STOUT (11.6% ABV) from Swift Current’s Black Bridge Brewery. Next up will be their SCOTTY THE T-REX DOUBLE NEW ENGLAND IPA.
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 a number of REGINA SLGA stores.
DECEMBER PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. This month’s featured wines hail from Chile. The red is Carmen Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon. $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre. The white is The Applicant Sauvignon Blanc. $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL will be back next week. Our Monday and Wednesday WINGS & A PINT SPECIAL and Tuesday PIZZA & A PINT SPECIAL are also great value deals.
BUSHWAKKER “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. 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.
The government of Saskatchewan announced that the Mandatory Masking and Proof of Vaccination mandates for all pubs and restaurants would remain in place until the end of January. 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. Proof of Vaccination is also required for offsale beer purchases.
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.
Dec. 27: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. CALL ME MILDY. Original jumpin’ blues, diggin’ rock and sweet reggae. 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Dec. 29: Wednesday Night Folk. RON LOOS. Talented guitar plucker with razor-sharp wit. Always draws a crowd because you just never know what he’ll say or play next! 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Dec. 31: NOTHING FOR NEW YEAR’S 16. Our most popular non-event of the year is back again! We’re celebrating this New Year’s Eve by bringing back Chef Mike’s famous slow roasted Prime Rib and Jumbo Yorkshire Pudding for one night only! Call 306-359-7276 to reserve your table. Two seatings available: 5:00 PM – 7:15 PM and 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM. Don’t delay and book your table today!
An Introduction to Mead
What Goes Into Mead Fermentation & Production, And How Are The Varied Styles Of Mead Defined?
By: Owen Ogletree
How Is Mead Different from Beer, Wine & Cider?
Wine is fermented from grape or fruit juices. Beer starts with converting the starch of barley grains into fermentable sugars using a hot water infusion, then boiling the sweet liquid with hops to balance the sweetness. Cider basically arises from fermented apple juice. With mead, honey makes up most of the fermentable sugar, and the final alcohol-by-volume (ABV) content can range from around 3 percent to over 20 percent, depending on the style.
Robin Kosoris of Georgia’s Viking Alchemist Meadery believes that mead innovation is only limited by the imagination of the mead maker. “Like wine, mead has terroir,” she says. “Wildflower honey is the ‘bees’ choice’ of local flowers and has a distinctiveness based on location as well as time of year. Like beer, mead has a wide variety of styles and lends itself well to creativity.”
When Was Mead Invented?
Millennia ago, water soaked into a damaged beehive, or maybe rain, diluted a container of honey that was left out in the elements. The watery honey fermented from microbes found in the environment, and some calorie-deprived soul drank the resulting liquid and found it to be delicious and delightfully intoxicating. Early mead production was going on almost 10,000 years ago, based on residue found in ancient Chinese pottery, and for thousands of years, this “nectar of the gods” was probably the favorite alcoholic drink in the world.
How is Mead Made?
Honey, water and yeast are essential in the creation of mead, and the final product can fall on a carbonation spectrum from zero carbon dioxide (still) to lively and sparkling like champagne. Depending on the amount of residual sugar at packaging, meads are available in versions that can be described as dry, semi-sweet or sweet. Dry meads make for splendid aperitifs, while sweet meads pair well with desserts.
Bees collect nectar and pollen from surrounding flowers and convert this mixture into honey in the hive. Mead’s major flavours come from the type of honey that is used, and different flowers give rise to honeys with a surprising array of aroma and flavor characteristics. Most standard, mixed blossom honeys produce meads with appealing, neutral flavors. Orange blossom honey contributes a pleasing hint of citrus. Tupelo honey can produce meads with somewhat earthy undertones, while an unusual honey type such as eucalyptus offers notes of pungent menthol.
TIME OUT
“On the first Christmas morning, the three wise men walk into the manger. The first one steps in donkey shit…looks at his shoe and exclaims ‘Jesus Christ’…Mary looks up at Joseph and says…”that’s a better name than Keith.”
Our sentiments exactly! Two major brewery repairs resulted in a significant loss in brewing production this year. The brewing of many seasonal offerings was simply not possible. The upgrades are now complete and we look forward to seeing our “Missile”tow Christmas Ale back in 2022!
