Bushwakker Mead Day continues as a local Christmas tradition – Regina | The Canadian News

Mead connoisseurs and blackberry fans can gather outside the Bushwakker Brewery on December 4 to return to what some are calling the “Nectar of the Gods.”

Regina’s oldest brewery is bringing back its Christmas tradition. Mead Day, which takes place on the first Saturday in December each year, is already creating quite a stir in the area.

“Well, it certainly is our official start to the Christmas season. When we first introduced mead about 30 years ago, no one had heard of it, no one was really interested, but when we brought the mead to the community and people got a chance to try it, they absolutely fell in love with it. “Said the marketing manager and bar Grant Frew.

The brewery first opened in 1991 and has since built a reputation for what it serves. Mead itself is different from beer or wine.

“It predates both,” Frew says. “And being made of honey, sorry for the pun, a lot of people will say it has a different kind of emotion.”

The drink has an alcohol content of 10 percent. Each batch the brewery makes starts with 400 pounds of honey and 84 pounds of blackberries.

“It really is a festive and tasty treat,” said Frew.

1:38Blackberry mead fans spend the night outside the Regina Pub

The yeast used in mead is extremely powerful. All the sugar in the drink is eaten, leaving it with a drier taste.

“It is a very slow fermenting beast. We start making the mead very early in the year and we do it year-round to prepare it, ”said Frew.

Pre-orders for bottled mead are now closed, but Frew says some customers like to queue outside the brewery to feel the sensation.

“I’ve heard a lot of our customers say they’ve been in the mead line for so many years that it’s actually part of their Christmas tradition as well.”