Beer of the Week

The beer: Pretzel Bier

The brewery: Victory Brewing Company, Downington, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "ROASTY, MALTY, & SLIGHTLY SALTY. Here at Victory Brewing Co., we love putting creative twists on traditional beer styles. Speaking of twists...our newest release, Pretzel Bier, delivers notes of warm, freshly baked pretzels with a toasted, slightly sweet finish. Using natural sea salt and a robust caramel malt, this 7.5% Toasted Ale takes all that’s special about a traditional Strong Ale and cranks it up a notch."

Would I buy it again? This is a tricky one for me, because in a vacuum this is a very good beer. Malty, kind of sweet, with a faint bit of saltiness. It's good and I enjoy drinking it. But when the Aldus pretzel beer exists, you really have to bring your A game, and this just doesn't compare. This tastes a bit like a pretzel, and while it's good, it isn't good enough. I'd take Aldus's pretzel beer every time.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Pretzel Wheat

Brewed by: Aldus Brewing Company, Hanover, Pennsylvania

Description: "Smells like a pretzel, tastes like a pretzel, drinks like a beer. From the pretzel center of the universe we bring you Aldus Pretzel Wheat Ale. Packed with Pennsylvania Dutch pretzel flavor with slight notes of salt, and ends with a crisp lager-like finish."

Would I buy it again?: Can you come up with a more classic combination than pretzels and beer? The Germans knew what they were doing. This is the culmination of that idea. Putting the pretzel IN the beer? Genius! And you know what? This is a great beer. It tastes enough like a pretzel that you don't feel cheated by the label, but it tastes like a beer too. I only wish I could get it here at home, rather than having to drive an hour, because this is a beer I will absolutely get again.