Peanut butter and chocolate. Rogers and Astaire. May and Indianapolis. Fish and chips.
Some things just go together.
Add pretzels and beer to that list. Happily, this natural combination comes together in a bottle with Shock Top’s Twisted Pretzel Wheat.
I can’t even imagine the wonderfulness of this brew out of a pretzel cone cup.
I first encountered this brew in a combo holiday pack last December. Always willing to give something new a try, particularly if it is in a 12 ounce bottle, I took a sniff.
You can smell the pretzels. Seriously. At first it seems like an odd idea to drink a beer that has pretzel flavors. Okay, it actually smells of salt and the beer’s yeast must bring home that pretzel-y, bread-y aroma. I love pretzels. So then the taste.
Have you ever had one of those warm hot pretzels from the kiosks in the mall or airport that are named after a relative who would be the sister of your mom or dad? This beer totally tastes like those pretzels. Only cold. And carbonated. With some beer thrown in. And 5.1% alcohol. And it’s absolutely delightful.
What’s crazy is you can read the butter flavor in the beer too, which would seem like it would be REALLY weird, but instead completes the pay off in this Ode to Pretzel.
This is not a heavy beer; it almost has a soda-like carbonation, which I think is a nice juxtaposition for a beer that essentially tastes like bread (not all reviewers agree, and want a heavier base for the beer; I think any heavier base would crush the innate pretzel-ness of the beer, and that’s the whole point of this brew, right?)
Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat – a classic combination
I just simply enjoy this beer. It’s fun. It tastes of some of my favorite things. It’s now been introduced in 6 packs on its own, and I hope Anheuser Busch/Shock Top decide to carry this Limited Edition brew it into the summer, it would be a treat by the pool or on a tailgate.
Is it a beer snob’s pick? Nope. But if you enjoy kicking back with a seriously drinkable, refreshing domestic beer and a bowl of pretzels, you can pair up with this one with a quick trip to your local package store.
