THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1637 – Posted on: 13-June-2022
BREWERY “HOPP”ENINGS: Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports a very small batch of MEXICAN LIME RADLER is now on tap and in our offsale! Our next fruit beer will be PASSION-BERRY! Our long-awaited tank of KAI’S MUNICH HELLES is now 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.
Named after the German brewing student who worked in our brewery over 20 years ago. He brought us the beer style and the recipe. This beautifully soft summer lager is back for a limited time. Thanks Kai!
This Weekend’s June 10th & 11th Special Dining Features is an APPLEWOOD SMOKED STEAK for $24.95. Limited quantities available! On Saturday, June 11th the Riders host the Ti-Cats at 5:00 PM. Enjoy our game day gourmet TABBY BURGER & A PINT special for $22.95. 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.
Our SASK CRAFT GUEST TAP is currently pouring a CHOCOLATE STOUT from Pile O’ Bones Brewing. This will followed by the IT’S KINDA FLAKEY IPA from Black Bridge Brewery in Swift Current.
JUNE PREMIUM WINE FEATURES This month’s red wine feature is the SILK & SPICE Red Blend which boasts grapes that are native to Portugal. The white wine is LES FUMEES BLANCHES Sauvignon Blanc from France. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
The June BUSHWAKKER LOCAL ARTIST WALL featured artist is RUBEN VALDES. Ruben was born in Santiago, Chile and came to Canada in his late twenties. Most of his early work was very detailed and meticulous paintings of what he observed through his life experience. In the past two years he has shifted his style to that of a more contemporary field. His paintings are very much influenced by Latin American and Canadian culture. Ruben is very pleased to for the opportunity to share his work with you and the entire community. Enjoy his big colourful works all this month!
The Regina HOP CIRCUIT is back for a third year running from the May Long Weekend until the Labour Day Long Weekend. Check out the 2022 Hop Circuit video at Hop Circuit 2022_v5 (vimeo.com) Grab a map and visit all six participating breweries and receive a 2022 commemorative beer glass. Download the free app at Hop Circuit « Tourism Regina to make your experience even slicker!
June 11: RIDERS VS TIGER CATS. The first regular season home game! Kickoff is at 5:00 PM. Be sure to stop by before or after the game and enjoy our gourmet “TABBY” BURGER & A PINT SPECIAL. Come “devour” the competition! What a Saturday night this will be!
June 13: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. THE JAZZ BAND-ITS. Huge band delivers big band, jazz and swing loud and proud! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
June 15: Wednesday Folk Night. MELISSA MANNETT & BRAD PAPP. Original acoustic tunes with a smattering of pop, rock and country too. Making their Bushwakker debut! 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
June 16: 2022 JAZZFEST REGINA Bushwakker performance – KEVIN KASHA QUINTET! JazzFest Regina is back and Bushwakker is pleased to be the host venue for two festival concerts this year. Our first jazz festival show features trumpet master, Kevin Kasha, who is the spotlight musician in this talented five piece act. And come see why there is plenty of buzz going on about the up-and-coming talents of young Kieran Kasha. Don’t miss this special performance showcasing the musical skills of this talented family. Rush seating tickets are $20. Available at the Bushwakker, at the door or visit www.jazzregina.ca. 7:00 PM.
June 20: 2022 JAZZFEST REGINA Bushwakker performance – TWO JUNO AWARD WINNERS – JOCELYN GOULD QUARTET featuring WILL BONNESS! JazzFest Regina is back and Bushwakker is pleased to be the host venue for two festival concerts this year. Our second performance features two Juno Award-winning artists! Guitarist and vocalist, Jocelyn Gould, won the 2021 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year. She has been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists.” Her joyful energy has captivated audiences around the world and her passion for music is infectious. She has absorbed the influences of the jazz guitar greats and has woven them into an exciting personal sound. Gould displays her influence from guitar greats such as Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell and Joe Pass. Her unique ability to connect with audiences always leaves them wanting more. Jocelyn is a professor and Head of Guitar Department at Humber College in Toronto. The featured pianist in this quartet is Will Bonness who recently won the 2022 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year. The Winnipeg pianist’s third recording proved to be gold. This is the first Juno Award for Bonness, who has been active on the international jazz scene for more than two decades. Rush seating tickets are $20. Available at the Bushwakker, at the door or visit www.jazzregina.ca. 7:00 PM.
CURRENT HOURS OF OPERATION AND RESERVATIONS NOTES
We are open Monday – Thursday from 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM. The kitchen closes at 9:00 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 10:00 PM and last call is at 10:15 PM.
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. Our two banquet rooms are also available for private party rentals. Call Kelly at 306-359-7276 to book either our main floor Arizona Room or basement Clubroom.
The Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Global Barley & Wheat Supply
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the impact was felt far and wide around the world – including in the beer industry, where Ukraine’s drop in barley and wheat production has affected brewers.
By: Clayton Schuster
Just when a semi-normal life seemed within reach following the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia invaded Ukraine and added an entire, glowing asterisk to our definition of “new normal.”
The invasion has created supply chain issues on top of those lingering from the pandemic, as well as questions about the stability of the post-Cold War international order, and, if that were not enough, worsened inflation. And all of that is naming just a few of the problems that nations around the world are encountering. The full ramifications of Russia’s actions will take years to resolve and fully understand.
The Beer Connoisseur readers may be additionally pained to know that Russia’s war in Ukraine could jack up the price of your favorite beer. The downstream effects of the war have not been fully felt by the world economy and the longer the war goes on, the greater the chances are that it will make pints and six-packs more expensive.
Grain is the most notable example here. The Black Sea Region is a major center for barley production, with Ukraine and Russia accounting for around 18% of all barley grown in the world and 30% of worldwide barley exports. Barley, it is worth noting here, is the main source of fermentable sugar in beer. That crisp, malty flavor of your favorite beer, whether we are talking about a hops-in-your-teeth IPA or a darker-than-moonless-midnight stout, primarily comes from barley.
Most of the barley in Ukraine is sown in spring and harvested in August around the country’s eastern region. We can take two conclusions from this. The first is a short-term positive: Last year’s crop was grown and exported out into the world well before the invasion. The second is a long-term negative: There will be no crop this year, in 2022.
Russia invaded right on the cusp of winter becoming spring and all indications show the war will last into summer and, perhaps, beyond. The Russians have made a point to steal Ukrainian farm equipment and food stores. They have mined the cities and the countryside wherever they advance and retreat. And it seems unimaginable to picture barley growers resuming their work in eastern Ukraine, where the Russians have concentrated their violent efforts in this latest phase of their campaign.
In short, the barley harvest next year is likely to be significantly disrupted.
Now, to be fair, most malt houses are not placing their orders with farmers in Ukraine. Barley is grown by the millions of bushels in the Canadian prairies, Idaho, Montana and elsewhere. However, Ukrainian barley goes to China, across the Middle East, Africa and the European Union. Barley is not the only grain that Ukraine exports around the globe.
Wheat (which, it is worth noting, is an ingredient in beers like hefeweizens, witbiers and many Belgian styles) is grown prolifically throughout central Ukraine. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization notes that Ukraine is the fifth-largest wheat exporter in the world. The country, prior to the invasion, was popularly known as the breadbasket of Europe.
Last year’s grain harvest was, in fact, a record-breaking 86 million tons (including oilseeds like sunflower). This leads to a problem looming over Ukraine, the world and your favorite pub. Ukraine has too much grain. Its stores are either full or located in an active warzone, and there is no way to get it all out to the world.
Ukraine is shipping a fraction of the tonnage it normally could by sea freight. Russia has destroyed or occupied Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea and instituted a naval blockade. Ukraine ships what it can from small ports on the Danube River and by rail. Neither of these alternatives can handle this immense capacity, due to their size, and decades of investments in infrastructure that connects farms and grain stores directly to ports in the south.
With storage facilities full of last year’s harvest, or out of commission due to the war, and with no way to bring years’ worth of harvests to market, its supply will rot, and its customers will look elsewhere for their needs.
This will pinch an already dire market for barley. Barley is divvied up into two categories, for malting (i.e., beer brewing), and for feed to animals and humans. The 2021 crop for malting barley in the northern hemisphere was abysmal and has maltsters angling for a much, much better crop this year.
Last year’s bad crop is felt this year in pricing, with the price of malting barley soaring 50 percent in Western Europe this year versus last year. The quality of barley impacts the quality of beer, and if 2022 is another sour year for the crop, that could lead to a cascade of consequences.
Assume, for instance, that the war in Ukraine stops today but the damage to infrastructure and supply lines out of the country impacts feed barley deliveries to Egypt and China (its biggest customer and an increasingly reliant customer, respectively). Both Egypt and China then go bidding for barley from other sources and scare malthouses into a bidding war to ensure they receive enough barley to meet their orders. This is just one scenario, but it is easy to see how this situation ends with prices rising.
Expensive barley is just one component of an ecosystem of rising costs. The pandemic also impacted price and availability of metals like aluminum and steel, needed for canning and for making kettles and fermentation vessels. Climate change is making energy more expensive, adding another layer of cost. And then there is inflation, which Heineken cited to The Guardian as the primary reason for its costs increasing 15%. That was just over a week before Russia invaded, however, and the figure could be even higher with all else added in.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had enormous repercussions around the globe. The full effects can’t be known yet, but all indications point to pressures on the brewing industry that will make beer more expensive.
TIME OUT– Bar Jokes For Nerds
The past, present and future all walk into a bar at the same time. It was tense.
A neutron walks into a bar and orders a drink. When the barman gives it to him, he asks, “How much?” The barman replies, “For you – no charge.”
Argon walks into a bar. The bartender says, “We don’t serve noble gases here!” Argon doesn’t react.
An infectious disease walks into a bar. The barman says, “We don’t serve your type in here.” The disease replies, “Well, you’re not a very good host.”
Our first 2022 JazzFest Regina show takes place on Thursday, June 16th and features monster trumpet player, Kevin Kasha. We’re certain Kevin will be adequately prepared and won’t need to improvise a trumpet mute like this fellow did! Tickets on sale now!
