REGINA, SK – Bushwakker Brewpub has announced that its co-founder and president Dr. Beverly Robertson passed away on Sunday November 19th following a multi-year battle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.
Born in Fredericton, NB in 1939, Robertson – who was commonly known as Bev – discovered a love for good beer during a sabbatical in Germany in the mid-1970s, and took up homebrewing on his return to Canada. He was one of the founders of the Ale and Lager Enthusiasts of Saskatchewan (ALES) amateur brewers club, and in 1991 he opened Bushwakker with his wife, Elaine, as partner and general manager.
Bushwakker has gone on to become one of Canada’s most renowned and award-winning brewpubs, and is a true family business, as noted in the announcement of Bev’s death:
Bev’s son, Scott Robertson, was the Bushwakker’s first brewer, his daughter, Kelly Monette, is the current general manager, his son-in-law, Mike Monette, is the executive chef, his granddaughter, Kristen Welisch, is the office manager, his grandson, Michael Gaetz, is the current head brewer and Elaine is Bushwakker general manager emeritus.
Bev Robertson is survived by Elaine, his wife of 59 years, as well as two children, four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. A public memorial will take place on Monday November 27 at 2:00 PM at the Jacqui Schumiatcher Room at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.
Bushwakker will be closed on Sunday November 26th and during the day on Monday November 27th, reopening at 5:00 PM following the former memorial for a “celebration of life”. A complimentary firkin of Bev’s Palliser Porter will be tapped, and all food and drink proceeds for the evening will be donated to the Allan Blair Cancer Centre.
For more details about Bev Robertson and his long and eventful life, see this week’s edition of the Bushwakker newsletter.