THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1700 – Posted on: 28-August-2023
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the 1700th edition of the Bushwakker weekly newsletter. It is hard to believe our little newsletter has been “chugging” along for well over 32 years. What originally started out as a weekly faxed, one page, black & white document (The BushFax) is now a bright and colourful e-newsletter which lands in the inboxes of almost 1600 Bushwakker fans every Friday morning at 6:00 AM. Although our newsletter’s reach is pale in comparison to the scope of our Facebook, Twitter (X) and Instagram pages, it is nice to see plenty of you taking a few minutes, rather than just a few seconds, to browse your Bushwakker brew news. Thank you for 1700 weeks of enthusiastic support everyone!
BREWERY “HOPP”ENINGS! Bushwakker Head brewer, Michael Gaetz, reports that our seasonally available GRANNY’S BITTER, KAI’S MUNICH HELLES, HONEY THISTLE WIT, BOMBAY IPA and TANGERINE DREAM FRUIT and are currently available. Our FLEK’S CZECH DARK LAGER is currently working its way through the brewery.
This Weekend’s Special Dining Feature for Friday, August 25th and Saturday, August 26th is SURF N’ TURF 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 the GRAPEFRUIT RATTLER from Regina’s Pile O’ Bones Brewing. Next up is the LEMON SMASH AMERICAN WHEAT from Saskatoon’s High Key Brewing.
AUGUST PREMIUM WINE FEATURES: This month’s wine features are the WAKEFIELD CLARE VALLEY WINES from Southern Australia. The red wine is their CABERNET SAUVIGNON and the white wine is their DRY RIESLING. Both are $8.95 for a glass and $23.95 for a half litre.
Shauna is a bit worried but Rayna is staying calm. The 2023 Regina Hop Circuit is proving to be more popular than even! We are seeing lots of people earning their commemorative glass and the supply is dwindling rapidly! Grab a free Hop Circuit map and hop on your bike or take a hike and visit all six craft breweries including: @rebelliontaproom @pileobonesbrews @bushwakkerbrewpub @maltynational @districtbrewing and @reginabrewinginc this summer! Get your 2023 commemorative glass before they are gone forever!
Enjoy the 2023 Regina Hop Circuit video from Tandem X Visuals.
https://www.facebook.com/TheBushwakker/videos/1283153589238378
Of the seven wins we recently received in the 2023 Best of Food Regina Awards, the BEST WAREHOUSE DISTRICT PUB award was much appreciated. Although much of our longevity is attributed to the quality of our beer, food and service, a big part of the Bushwakker identity has to do with where we are located. The atmosphere created by a 109 year old warehouse simply cannot be duplicated. Can you image what Bushwakker would feel like if it were located in a shiny new strip mall retail space? No way! The detailed pressed tin ceiling, the uneven hardwood floors, the huge windows, the massive wooden pillars, the brick and limestone exterior as well as the creaks and groans of this beautifully restored Chicago-style warehouse all play a vital role in creating the Bushwakker experience. We have been called, “the cultural hub of Regina” by Jeff Redbeard Corbett formerly of CJTR Regina Community Radio and identify as being the Dewdney Avenue entertainment strip anchor business. Our late co-founder and president, Bev Robertson, helped to establish the Regina Warehouse Business Improvement District Association. We are so thankful his original brewpub license application was rejected. Otherwise you would have been sipping your pint in the shadow of the shiny SGI Building downtown. Remember Presutti’s Tomato and The Crow’s Nest? Thank you for 32 years of enthusiastic support!
UPCOMING BUSHWAKKER EVENTS
Aug. 28: Monday Night Jazz & Blues. JUSS SAYIN’. Great jazz and blues tunes featuring lead vocalist and guitar player, Jan Seitz. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Aug. 30: Wednesday Folk Night. SAYONARA SUMMER SASKATCHEWAN SINGER/SONGWRITER SHOWCASE. Veteran songsmith Neil Child is joined by a mix of seasoned and novice songwriters including: Marie Lerminiaux, Derek Harvey, Abby Kaitlyn, Byron Ewert-Moleski, Trent Leggott and Baron Child. 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Sept. 1: 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 tribute to the end of summer. Our final summer-inspired firkin will be a GRAPEFRUIT SODA POP RADLER. The suds-soaking spectacular takes place at 5:30 PM.
Sept. 1,2 & 3: LABOUR DAY CLASSIC THREE DAY BURGER BATTLE. Our annual decadent football burger event is back! Which burger will be the most popular? The Sask Burger or the Winnipeg Burger? And will the best-selling burger once again predict the outcome of the Labour Day Classic? May the best burger and the best team win!
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.
America’s oldest craft brewer has shut down after 127 years. Here’s how it could be saved
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business
America’s first craft brewery is closing after more than a century
Anchor Brewing, which has been America’s oldest craft brewer with 127 years in business, closed its taprooms for good on Sunday, July 30. But there’s a chance the brand could live on.
Loyal fans seeking one last pint formed a line outside the San Francisco-based brewery on Sunday that stretched several city blocks, to the point that Anchor had to turn people away, according to CNN affiliate KPIX-TV. One fan told the station that “it’s a shame that something like this is going away,” expressing hopes that Anchor could be saved during the liquidation process that begins in August.
There’s hope that could happen: Roughly two dozen different investors as well as a group of Anchor’s employees have “expressed interest in buying all or parts of Anchor Brewing,” company spokesman Sam Singer told CNN.
A few weeks ago, Anchor’s parent company Sapporo USA shocked the industry and fans with the news that it was closing the brewery because of a “combination of challenging economic factors and declining sales since 2016.” The brewery’s assets, including its taprooms and recipes, are being turned over to liquidators this week for a possible auction.
Singer added that the company “remains hopeful that an investor/investor group will keep the company going for future generations. Anchor is deeply grateful to its employees and its fans for their outpouring of support and love during this difficult time.”
The brewery employee group, represented by Warehouse Union Local 6 ILWU, wants to buy Anchor and run it as a worker co-op. “We are not asking for a handout or charity,” the employees said in a letter to Sapporo that was obtained by CNN. “All we want is a fair shot at being able to continue to do our jobs, make the beer we love, and keep this historic institution open. We do not want the brewery and brand we love to be sold off before we even had a chance.”
An online petition the union started claims that Sapporo wasn’t giving them the “financial information that had been provided to other prospective buyers,” adding that they’ve hired two law firms to help them craft a bid to purchase Anchor.
However, Anchor said that it’s “being fair and equal in its treatment of all parties” that are interested in purchasing the brand, adding that all can join the bidding once it begins the liquidation process.
“Anchor remains hopeful that of the many bidders who have expressed interest in buying all or some of Anchor’s assets that one of them will keep the company going for future generations,” Singer said.
“This was an extremely difficult decision that Anchor reached only after many months of careful evaluation,” Singer said earlier this month after Sapporo’s announcement. He added that the “impacts of the pandemic, inflation, especially in San Francisco, and a highly competitive market left the company with no option but to make this sad decision to cease operations.”
TIME OUT
Father O’Hanlon was moved from Ireland to a small town in West Texas due to his unfortunate propensity of making fun of the Archbishop of Dublin’s lisp at Church Synods. After a 20-hour flight and a 4-hour bus ride he found himself a resident in his new community of barely 100 souls and a few thousand cacti.
While it was a very isolated place it was also quite beautiful. He rose from his bed each morning and walked around the entire town greeting folks when he saw them. It was about a week after he arrived when he started to leave the manse only to see a rather disturbing site out his front door.
Smack dab in his path there was a jackass lying dead in the middle of the church’s front lawn, legs pointed skyward to heaven.
He promptly called the local Texas Rangers’ station and the conversation went like this:
“Good morning. This is Trooper Jones. How might I help you?”
“And the best of the day to you Trooper. This is Father O’Hanlon at St. Ann’s Church. There’s a jackass lying dead in me front lawn and would ye be so kind as to send a couple o’ yer lads to take care of the matter.”
Trooper Jones, considered himself to be quite a wit and recognizing the new priest’s Irish accent, thought he would have a little fun with him, replied, “Well now Father, it was always my impression that you people took care of the last rites!”
There was dead silence on the line for a long moment.
Then, Father O’Hanlon replied, “Aye, ’tis certainly true; but we are also obliged to notify the next of kin first, which is the reason for me call.”
Summer is drawing to a close and the lakes are looking murky. Were you part of the cause?
