THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1679 – Posted on: 03-April-2023
BREWERY “HOPP”ENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports that our seasonally available TWO SONS MILK STOUT, ARCTIC DARK MUNICH DUNKEL and brand new CHERRY LIME ALE are currently available. There are still some bottles of the amazing THREE-DOWN BOHEMIAN PILSNER in our offsale cooler. A batch of BARON BOCK and SASKADIAN BLACK IPA are currently working their way through the brewery.
After a four-year hiatus, we are very excited to bring back our signature Bushwakker event which showcases the talents of both the kitchen and the brewery! Tickets to our April 22nd Bushwakker Brewer’s Dinner are on sale now! $89.95 each. Each course utilizes beer as an ingredient and is paired with a half pint of beer to accentuate the flavours of the food. Don’t miss our most decadent dining experience of the entire year! This year’s theme is Mexican BBQ!
BUSHWAKKER BREWER’S DINNER 2023 – MEXICAN BBQ
1ST COURSE: BOCK BRAISED SMOKED PORK EMPANADAS
Baron Bock braised smoked pork and monterey jack empanada on a bed of Mexican slaw with pickled red onion salsa fresca, ancho bbq sauce and cilantro crema, paired with Harvest Oktoberfest Lager.
2ND COURSE: TROPICAL CEVICHE LAGER TOSTADA
Northern Lights Lager, ahi tuna, shrimp and tropical fruit ceviche, paired with Three-Down Bohemian Pilsner.
3rd COURSE: DUNKEL BISTEC ASADO
Slow roasted Arctic Dark Munich Dunkel and citrus marinated beef tenderloin with smoked pepper salsa verde, ancho mole sauce, roasted poblano and Oaxaca cheese mashed potato and sweet corn succotash, paired with Saskadian Black IPA.
PALATE CLEANSER: NIEVE DE LIMA made with Mexican Lime Radler
4th COURSE: DULCE DE LECHE CHICO CHURRO TARTA
Chico IPA churro cake topped with dulce de leche ganache, Mexican hot chocolate sauce and a Blackberry Mead paleta on a bed of ground almond brittle, paired with Chocolate Two Son’s Milk Stout.
This menu was thoughtfully designed by Bushwakker kitchen team members, Andrew Calibaba and Amber Colbourne.
This Weekend’s Special Dining Feature for March 31st and April 1st is a BLACK & BLUE STEAK SANDWICH for $23.95. Our Saturday CLASSIC STEAK & A PINT SPECIAL as well as 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 DOUBLE IPA from Swift Current’s Black Bridge Brewing. Next up is the 600 CITRUS PILSNER from Regina’s Malty National Brewing.
APRIL PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: Our April Wine features pay tribute to the iconic rock band and proudly hail from Canada! The red wine is HENRY OF PELHAM BACO NOIR VQA and the white wine is GRAY MONK PINOT GRIS. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
The 2023 “Best of Food Regina” nominees have now been selected. There were a number of category changes made this year which should make things interesting. Thank you for nominating your Bushwakker in 11 categories including BEST: Local Beer Maker, Pub, Warehouse District Restaurant, Warehouse District Pub, Pub Food, Burgers, Veggie Burger, Fries, Wings, Beer Selection and Pub For a Date!
Be sure to turn those nominations into wins by voting in the easy and fun multiple-choice ballot. Just head over to prairiedogmag.com or click the link below. Voting is open only until May 1st, so don’t delay.
Best of Food 2023 | Best Restaurant | Best of Food 2023 | Prairie Dog (prairiedogmag.com)
UPCOMING BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
Apr. 3: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. JUSS SAYIN’. New name and a new line-up from an act who delivers your favorite Jazz, Rhythm and Blues tunes. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Apr. 5: Wednesday Folk Night. SCHOOL OF ROCK. A group of up-and-coming young local musicians will deliver blues rock, southern rock and plain old rock. Come hear Regina’s future blues rockers. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Apr. 5: MONTHLY ALES CLUB MEETING. If you are interested in delving into the world of homebrewing or are just looking to brush up on your brewing skills then the ALES Club is for you! This month’s presentation topics will be IPAs and EVERYTHING HOPPY from hopping strategies and hop rhizomes/growing hops. Come to the Bushwakker basement clubroom at 7:00 PM and discover what the ALES Club can offer you. New members are always welcome!
Apr. 7: FIRST FIRKIN FRIDAY! Enjoy the pomp and circumstance of this longstanding Bushwakker monthly tradition! A piper from The Regina Police Services Pipes & Drums leads a keg (the firkin) of special ale throughout the pub in a procession. A guest volunteer tapper is selected to wield the handmade wooden maul affectionately named,The Mighty Firkin Wakker, and attempts to tap the keg in one mighty blow! This month’s firkin offering will be a CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT! The suds-soaking spectacular takes place at 5:30 PM.
Apr. 7: FESTIVE FISH GOOD FRIDAY. The biggest day of the year for our number-one selling Stubblejumper Pils battered fish served with our award-winning fries and house-made tartar sauce. We are very excited to see the return of our Alaskan Cod now that proper supply chains have been reinstated. Enjoy an order in-house or call early (starting at 9:00 AM) at 306-359-7276 and get it to go! Takeout orders will not be available between 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM due to First Firkin Friday. And remember if you were unable to secure an order of our famous fish on Friday, you can always get an order on Saturday!
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 midnight. The kitchen is open until 11:00 PM and last call is at 11:15 PM. Closed Sundays.
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.
Why craft beer fosters better communities than its corporate competitors
By Tyson Mitman Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology, York St John University
Craft beer is big business. In 2021, craft beer sales in the US (the biggest beer market by sales) totaled US$26.8 billion (£22 billion) and represented 13.1% of overall sales of beer. And it’s a growing market.
In 2015 there were 4,803 craft breweries in the US, by 2021 there were 9,118. The number of UK craft breweries, in that same period grew from 1,527 to 1,755. While the sales and growth are impressive, what matters more is what these figures represent – a growing interest in a superior quality beer from both producers and consumers.
Equally important is the ideological shift in the beer market they signify. Big beer (large corporate breweries such as AB Inbev) singularly seeks and values profit. Craft beer, while also motivated by profit, equally values community, quality and independence.
A brief history of craft beer
The craft beer movement began as an act of resistance. In the years after the second world war, the beer market had become controlled by big, corporate beer producers who offered little in the way of variety or quality.
Mediocre lagers produced by the likes Budweiser or Heineken dominated the market to such a degree that they were basically the only choice. Early craft brewers refused to accept this and began researching forgotten beer styles, honing their brewing skills and putting business plans together.
Their efforts produced better and more interesting beers, but through their rejection of corporate beer’s profit-over-all ideology, they also produced a new community of enthusiasts with a value system that distinguished them from the corporate beer scene.
What makes a craft beer ‘authentic’?
The values of the craft beer community (what it considers important about itself) revolve around authenticity and community membership.
Being seen as more or less in line with these values is how individuals or breweries rise and fall in status. According to anthropologist David Graeber, these values are also how the craft beer scene works to increase the status of craft beer within the rest of society.
For craft producers, authenticity is judged on production size (the smaller the better) and if, as Graeber explains, they “use the best ingredients, work slowly and purposefully, make the best beer possible, and care about every step in the process”.
The idea of authenticity for craft consumers is more nuanced – they may not always drink craft beer, but still consider themselves members of the community. For enthusiasts, community membership is built around a shared interest in craft beer and a shared understanding of the group ideology.
Good reputation in the community for craft beer producers is achieved by making great beer, being present at beer festivals, partnering with pubs for tap takeovers and educating people so they can better appreciate craft beer. It’s also achieved by working and sharing resources with other craft breweries.
Craft beer consumers become members in good standing by exhibiting their knowledge of craft beer, drinking it and discussing and promoting it to others. All of this reinforces the community’s values but also works to recruit new members.
TIME OUT
A guy walks into a bar and asks for 10 shots of the establishment’s finest single malt scotch. The bartender sets him up, and the guy takes the first shot in the row and pours it on the floor. He then takes the last shot in the row and does the same.
The bartender asks, “Why did you do that?” And the guy replies, “Well, the first shot always tastes like crap, and the last one always makes me sick!”
Our April 7th Festive Fish Friday event also falls on First Firkin Friday. In order to serve customers who are in the brewpub first, the number of take-out orders will not be available between 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM. Call us early that morning beginning at 9:00 AM to secure your take-out orders at 306-359-7276.
