Beer and pretzels. A common saying for an historic food and drink partnership that gets a bum rap these days. For most folks, beer and pretzels means a bag of discounted Rold-Gold twists and a suitcase of cheap American macro-brew, often in front of a television that will anesthetize you to the bland flavor combination you've fallen into out of habit. Or maybe you have a little class and opted for an import beer and a box of Snyder's hard pretzels, straight from Pennsylvania Dutch country. That's better, but you're still not reaching the potential of this classic combination.
For that, you'll need to make your own.
I leave you to the experts in our rundown of local homebrew resources for the beer, but I can help you with the pretzels. If all you know are the bags of dessicated salty crunch or the frozen rolls masquerading as soft pretzels, these homebrewed pretzels will be a revelation. Sure, they take some work and some patience, but plan ahead and your next poker game or televised sporting event will become an event worth remembering, no matter who walks away a winner.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2010.