Skip to main content

Shock top brings back the Twisted Pretzel

A wheat ale with some cracker notes

Shock Top Twisted Pretzel.
Shock Top

Beer and pretzels go great together so it’s not entirely surprising that a big brewer has made an ale modeled partly after the snack. Shock Top is back with its limited-edition fall release, a Belgian-style beer that takes on some pretzel notes.

This release comes from a brewery famous for its Belgian wheat beer, brewed with coriander and citrus. Originally created as a seasonal in 2006, it’s gone on to become a staple Anheuser-Busch ale. The pretzel beer first dropped in 2014, released to celebration National Pretzel Day.

Oktoberfest cheers with beer steins
golero / iStock

It’s a beer that’s got us thinking about Oktoberfest and giant baked goods alongside refreshing beers. The brand calls the beer an experience, ideal for sipping in front of the fire around the holidays. Whatever it is, it has quite a following, with social media groups assembling as part of a larger movement to bring the beer back. If you can’t get to Bavaria, perhaps this beer will offer a little taste of the famous German region.

Recommended Videos

Shock Top is an Anheuser-Busch product and available pretty much anywhere. That’ll be the case with the pretzel wheat, while supplies last. The beer pours a nice brown hue and shows biscuit-like aromas. It’s made with a blend of hop varieties and a few malts. Seems like the kind of thing that would sell very well around, say, the Super Bowl.

Keep up to date on beer news in general with some of our other recent stories, covering topics like NA beer and sports and award-winning fresh hop beers from 2024. Prost!

Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
Peroni drops shaved Italian beer ice for summer sipping
A Mediterranean adult slushee of sorts
Peroni shaved Italian beer ice.

Hot off a new partnership with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, Peroni is greeting summer in style. The iconic Italian beer brand is now offering shaved beer ice, available via Goldbelly. And for the DIY types who want to try their hand a making the stuff at home, there's even a recipe.

Peroni Italian Beer Ice comes via a recipe from De Laurentiis. The refreshing drink is 5% ABV and blends a bit of citrus with the signature taste of the Pilsner. It's tough to imagine a better frozen drink for the hottest days of summer.

Read more
Why top chefs and restaurants are obsessed with this heritage coffee roaster
How Graffeo sets itself apart with a custom fluid bed roaster
Graffeo Coffee

Founded in 1935 by Italian immigrant Giovanni Graffeo, Graffeo Coffee remains true to its tradition of fluid bed roasting and continues to use a straightforward, high-quality approach when roasting coffee beans today. Graffeo later sold his roastery in 1954 to Giovanni Repetto from Liguria, who later passed the business down to his son, Luciano, in 1978. Luciano took a huge leap of faith by installing a custom-built fluid bed hot air roaster. Thus began a decades-long quest for the world’s finest roasted coffee.

Now, fast-forward to 2024, when sixth-generation San Franciscan Walter A. Haas invested in a percentage of Graffeo. Together with Luciano, Walter has committed to sticking to traditional ways, believing that the perfect cup of coffee is not so elusive after all. Today, in addition to its iconic North Beach location, Graffeo can be found in fine restaurants and specialty markets, including Lazy Bear, Zuni Cafe, House of Prime Rib, Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, and Girl and the Fig. Here's what makes Graffeo Coffee so popular amongst chefs and restaurants. Here's what chefs and restaurants have to share about what makes Graffeo so unique (and popular in the restaurant industry).
Graffeo coffee roasting

Read more
From ancient brews to craft cans: the 9,000-year story of beer
The lengthy history of a well-known beverage
Beer on a wooden barrel

Beer has deep, deep roots. The stuff predates so many things, from actual religious figures and way-back eras like the Middle Kingdom of Egypt to fellow fermented beverages like wine. How beer is made has changed quite a bit over that long arc, but the amazing fact remains: it's one of the oldest beverages on earth.

Undoubtedly, the first versions of beer tasted very different than what we're accustomed to today. That's pretty much the case with most things we eat and drink (ancient Roman wine, anyone?). Regardless, humans were interested in fermenting grain several thousands of years ago and that's pretty cool to mull over.
When was beer invented?

Read more