THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1685 – Posted on: 15-May-2023
BREWERY “HOPP”ENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports that our seasonally available BARON BOCK, SASKADIAN BLACK IPA, MARRY BERRY BLONDE ALE and CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT are currently available. There are still some bottles of the amazing THREE-DOWN BOHEMIAN PILSNER in our offsale cooler. Lots of Bushwakker seasonal brews are on the horizon! Batches of FLEK’S CZECH DARK LAGER, BOMBAY IPA, and GRANNY’S BITTER are currently working their way through the brewery.
The weather is warming up in Saskatchewan and we have new seasonal beers for patio sippin’! Our brand new MARRY BERRY BLONDE ALE is juicy and fruity and our MEXICAN LIME RADLER is citrusy and quenching with lower alcohol content. Enjoy while quantities last!
This Weekend’s Special Dining Feature for May 12th & 13th is a CAJUN BUTTER STEAK for $24.95. 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 HONEY RYE LAGER from Swift Current’s Black Bridge Brewery. Next up is a MANGO APPLE CIDER from Saskatoon’s Crossmount Cidery. This will be followed by a HALLO HEFEWEIZEN from Malty National Brewing.
MAY PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: Our May wine features hail from Argentina. The red wine is MYTHIC MOUNTAIN MALBEC. $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre. the white wine is CUMA ORGANIC TORRONTES. $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.
Thanks to everyone who attended our 4th Premium Tequila Tasting event last week. We have a small amount of each product available at the bar. The results from the tasting according to customer preference are below. Scores are out of 50 points.
- Villa Lobos Anejo 43.80
- La Gritona Reposado 38.17
- Santo Puro Mezquila 37.52
- Grand Mayan 3D Silver 36.61
- Estancia Raicilla 33.30
- Enmascardo 54 Mezcal 28.09
Our BUSHWAKKER LOCAL ARTIST WALL for the month of May features the works of Shelly Nicolle-Phillips who is a Fibre Artist.
Shelly is a transplanted Maritimer who has been living in and learning about her Prairie home since moving to Regina in 2002. She first picked up a hook in 2015 while visiting her home province of PEI. While she is self-taught, genetics may also be an influence as her paternal grandmother was also a rug hooker and hooked beautiful traditional rugs to keep their Island farmhouse floors warm.
Drawing on the traditional rug hooking technique from her Island heritage in a unique way, Shelly uses the texture and colours of natural fibres to explore the prairie landscape which has been so foreign to her. While the prairie landscape is a strong influence at this point in her art journey, any landscapes she finds herself in serve as creative inspiration and often souvenirs of time spent elsewhere.
In 2016, Shelly created Hooked on the Prairies, initially a social media handle to share her art with others and connect with other creatives. This has evolved into active Facebook and Instagram profiles, an Etsy shop and website. Sharing the craft of rug hooking through teaching has been a rewarding part of her art journey. She has a deep belief that creating art through rug hooking has therapeutic benefits and that everyone can benefit from finding their own creative outlet.
Shelly is a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council and has had her work in solo and group shows in Saskatchewan and is proud to have sold her artwork to individuals all over North America. One of her first original pieces was included in a book “Eyes Open to the World – memories of travel in wool”. www.hookedontheprairies.ca
We experienced a nice little milestone last week. We tapped our 500th 800 litre tank of Northern Lights. This is our most popular lager. It is one of our six original Bushwakker brews and has been served on tap every business day since January 25, 1991. Cheers everyone and thanks for 32 years of incredible enthusiastic support!
UPCOMING BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
May 13: THE 6TH POETRY & A PINT PRESENTATION. We are delighted to have the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild as a partner in this event. Enjoy a Saturday afternoon of poetry readings from six of Regina and area’s established and up-and-coming writers. Perhaps enjoy a slice of our special poet-inspired FIREBALL CINNAMON SWIRL created just for the occasion! 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
May 15: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. AZARIAH. Rockin’ veteran blues band returns. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
May 17: Wednesday Folk Night. A SPRING CEILIDH WITH BILLARNEY. Toe-tapping reels from the largest Celtic band to ever grace the Bushwakker stage. 7:30 PM – 9:00 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 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.
New varieties of hops provide key ingredients for unique and quirky craft beer flavour
By Tim Lee from Australian Public Broadcast
“Can I have a beer with citrus, passionfruit, lychee and floral flavours, please?”
In past years such a request in a blokey beer barn serving only bitter and lager would have sparked disbelief — and possibly a brawl.
Not these days. Liquor stores and pubs are awash with new-age trendy brews.
And there’s a growing thirst for them.
Known as the “craft beer” movement, it’s re-inventing and re-invigorating the world of beer.
Trendy unique beer
Per capita, beer consumption in Australia has fallen in recent years, but the demographic of drinkers and their taste in beer has changed markedly.
“It’s definitely got younger over time, and it’s definitely broadened its appeal,” said Laura Bray, from Bright Brewery in Victoria’s alpine region.
“People have finally realised there’s a whole second gender that enjoys beer.”
Hops are ripe and ready for harvest in autumn in Australia.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)
The brewery was a trendsetter. Close to Victoria’s hop fields, it opened in 2005.
By 2013 Australia had 200 craft or microbreweries.
Now there are some 650 small independent brewers.
Two-thirds are in rural and regional areas and a drawcard for tourism.
Until 2006 Australia’s hops industry was dominated by bitter varieties, high in alpha acids that act as a bittering agent that gives beer its bite.
The growing popularity of “craft brews” and the brewers’ quest for distinctive aromatic taste has put the focus back onto plant breeders.
“It has given us the opportunity to work with not only mainstream breweries but the craft sector in developing new varieties, and it’s showcasing the Australian industry to the world,” said Greg Croke, who runs Ellerslie Hops at Myrrhee in north-east Victoria.
Mr Croke’s family hop-growing business began with his grandfather in 1932. In the decades since, major breweries such as Carlton United and Cooper’s have been their mainstay market.
TIME OUT
My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her, “Do you know him?”
“Yes”, she sighed, “He’s my old boyfriend. I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn’t been sober since.”
“My God!” I said, “Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?”
And that’s how the fight started.
Yes, we know. It’s pricy out there.
