THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1618 – Posted on: 31-January-2022
Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports our famous Blackberry Mead is still available in our offsale but is no longer available on tap. Our seasonal Orangerine Fruit Beer is on tap and in our offsale! 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.
As much as bar manager Grant likes to think our seasonal ORANGERINE ALE tastes like Beep, bartender Kim promises there is no Beep juice in our popular fruit beer. But if we had to pick the best Bushwakker breakfast beer, this would be it! Available on tap, in our offsale cooler and for growler fills too…while quantities last!
Our GUEST TAP is currently pouring THE FRESHMAN NEW ENGLAND IPA from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing. Next up is their popular LONDON FOG PORTER!
JANUARY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES. This month’s featured wines are from the Trapiche Winery in Argentina. The red is a Reserve Malbec and the white is a Reserve Pinot Grigio. Both are $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
This Weekend’s January 28th & 29th Special Dining Feature is BISON RAVIOLI for $21.95. 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 great value deals.
Thanks to the many folks who stopped by last Saturday to help us celebrate our 31st birthday! Although we couldn’t present our normal Bushwakker/Robbie Burns combined Birthday Bash, our assistant pastry chef, Justin Seitz, served up many slices of free Chocolate Porter birthday cake which were devoured by our legion of devout Bushwakker fans. Hopefully we can all enjoy free haggis again next year!
Jan. 31: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. BONGO BOB BAND. World music percussionist roots/soul/blues singer-songwriter brings his band back to The Bushwakker. 7:30 – 9:00 PM.
Feb. 2: Wednesday Folk Night. REGINA SONGWRITERS GROUP AND SASKMUSIC PRESENT three local talented artists including: William John Stewart, Kat Thome and Justin “Artie” Balkwill. 7:30 – 9:00 PM.
Feb. 4 & 5: BEV DAY WEEKEND. Last year’s inaugural BEV DAY was such a success that we will make a weekend out of it this year! Come enjoy the favourite food and drink our late co-founder loved so much.
BUSHWAKKER “NEW NORMAL” NOTES
NEW HOURS: We are open Monday – Thursday from 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM. The kitchen closes at 8:30 PM and last call is at 9:15 PM. Fridays and Saturdays we are open from 11:00 AM until 11:00 PM. The kitchen is open until 9:30 PM and last call is at 10:15 PM.
The government of Saskatchewan announced on January 12th, 2022 that the Mandatory Masking and Proof of Vaccination mandates for all pubs and restaurants would remain in place until the end of February. 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.
Upping the heat with your cold ones: How beer cans can be transformed into a heating system
Thirteen years later, the same old beer cans are still chugging along, helping keep the space warm and heating bills low – about $300 annually
By Ashley Joannou
Passive heating system on the rural home of Paul McLauchlin in Ponoka County.
When Paul McLauchlin and his wife Melinda started planning a separate building on their property for 2,000-square-feet of office space 13 years ago, ideas to make it energy efficient were already brewing.
Along with him being both the president of the Rural Municipalities Association and Reeve of Ponoka County, they both run environmental consulting companies and wanted to “walk the talk” on how changes in design and tools can create a space that has the smallest energy footprint possible.
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“We built this office on our farm and we said, ‘you know, it’s not going to be occupied all the time so let’s build the greenest building we possibly can,’” McLauchlin said.
“It’s actually net positive. So this building creates more power than it consumes.”
Alongside solar and wind power, quality walls and windows designed to get the most sun possible when they need it, the contraption most likely to raise an eyebrow is the building’s primary heater, made out of empty beer cans.
The concept is relatively simple. The aluminum cans have both of their ends cut off and are fashioned into a series of long metal tubes, painted black. With a fan at one end, and some fins cut into the tubes slowing down the airflow, the metal is positioned in a way to get heated by the sun as the warm air is pulled into the building.
Thirteen years later, the same old beer cans are still chugging along, helping keep the space warm and heating bills low – about $300 annually, McLauchlin estimates.
“It’s -22 C right now and my furnace didn’t come on today,” he said over the phone in early December.
“It might come on in the middle of the night, but it’s hot in here just from leaving it on today and having it set.”
Although this kind of passive heating has been around for hundreds of years, McLauchlin said it has seen a spike in interest more recently as more people aim to be energy independent.
Online videos walk the curious through how to use beer — or soda — cans to build everything from small, window-sized units to towering structures.
“When we first installed it people couldn’t figure out what it is but obviously people have been looking it up on YouTube because … now they know for sure,” McLauchlin said.
He said building this kind of passive heating is something he would encourage everyone to try, even if just for something like a utility shed or a barn.
“I think that we need to realize it’s the lowest cost investment you can make in renewable energy that I think will have the most significant impact for people.”
TIME OUT- More Random Insights on Life
8. I had my patience tested. I’m negative.
9. Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn’t fit any of your containers.
10. If you’re sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say, “Did you bring the money?”
11. When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say “nothing,” it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
12. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever.
13. I run like the winded.
14. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don’t know whose side I’m on..
