Another reason to come to Beerfly Alleyfight

You know what those are pictured above? They're homemade Bavarian-style mini soft pretzels (or, auf Deutsch, Brezeln) that are encrusted with bacon bits and crushed Cocoa Puffs. Think it sounds good? I promise you it tastes better. Yes, that's what we'll be pairing with our Kokopüffenweizen for this year's Beerfly Alleyfight (May 22nd; more details here).

I used this recipe I found on homebrewtalk.com rather than this other recipe I found because it was faster and I didn't get started until 8pm. It was also the first time I've ever made anything with lye (and I didn't lose any skin in the process!). I actually tried three different methods of mixing the bacon and Cocoa Puffs into the pretzels--the other two featuring the bacon and Puffs inside the dough--but I liked the crunchiness of the crumbs on the outside, plus it made the Cocoa Puffs a little more noticeable. My only complaint is the dough was rather sweet (the recipe I used called for brown sugar). I think next time I'll cut the sugar other than a minimal amount used to get the yeast going. Otherwise I'm thinking these should be ready to rock when the Alleyfight rolls around. If you live in or near Chicago, don't miss it!