'Euphoric' Bavarian pretzels to rock Steam Horse Brewing's 4th anniversary

Eddie Ritz, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
Manfred Schmidtke will be baking his Bavarian pretzels on site for Steam Horse Brewing's fourth anniversary celebration.
Manfred Schmidtke will be baking his Bavarian pretzels on site for Steam Horse Brewing's fourth anniversary celebration.

Though beer will be the star at Steam Horse Brewing’s fourth anniversary celebration on Saturday, coming in a close second — and the perfect complement to those craft beers — will be Manfred’s Bavarian pretzels.

These scratch-made, golden-brown beauties will be made and baked on-site, by Manfred Schmidtke himself.

An instructor at the Florida Culinary Institute off of 45th Street for 20 years, where he was the department chairman of international baking and pastry, Schmidtke is certified master baker and certified executive pastry chef.

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Now working in food research and development, he said baking pretzels has become his passion.

Schmidtke said that it makes him smile to see his pretzels and good beer being enjoyed together.

Manfred's Bavarian Pretzels nearing golden perfection.
Manfred's Bavarian Pretzels nearing golden perfection.

Though he gets dozens of requests every year to bake, he estimated he probably bakes them maybe six or seven times a year.

He mostly works with Steam Horse owner Fran Andrewlevich and with Copperpoint Brewing in Boynton Beach, he said.

Of German heritage, Schmidtke said that his dough is always made the day before so it has time to ferment to properly.

In addition to his gourmet pretzels, Schmidtke makes his own signature mustard and cheese sauce.

The combination of that sauce, made with a blend of five cheeses, and his pretzels was described as "euphoric" by Steam Horse owner Fran Andrewlevich.

Though they should be eaten with a great beer at the ready, Schmidtke's pretzels are even better with his homemade mustard and cheese sauce.
Though they should be eaten with a great beer at the ready, Schmidtke's pretzels are even better with his homemade mustard and cheese sauce.

Schmidke said he and his wife are heading to Germany at the end of September to enjoy Oktoberfest.

He joked that "after dancing on tables for three days," they would then head down to Greece to recover.

Going to the Steam Horse Brewery Anniversary event? 

Where: Steam horse Brewing Co., 1500 Elizabeth Ave., West Palm Beach

When: 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday

Cost: no cover charge

Information: steamhorsebrewing.com

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Steam Horse Brewing anniversary event features Bavarian pretzels, beer