TO MAKE THE PRETZELS

1. Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup of water and let sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour, sugar, olive oil, kosher salt, and beer to a large bowl. Add in the yeast and combine all together.
3. Once combined, knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes or until nice and elastic. Put in a large, lightly-greased bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rest in a warm place until it doubles in size, or about an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 425?F (218?C)
5. Then punch out the dough and maybe toss is around a couple more times (this also helps with the density.) Then split into 12 sections. Cover the sections you’re not working with so they don’t get crusty and dry.
6. Roll out the each section so they’re about 3/4″ in diameter and about 16″ long. Form into the shape of a pretzel. Set aside and cover each one until you’re done with them all.
7. Dissolve the baking soda in the 2 cups (475ml) of hot water. Dip each pretzel in the solution and then place the pretzel on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover them all and allow to rise for about 15-20 minutes.
8. Brush each pretzel with the egg and sprinkle on the salt.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are browned.

TO MAKE THE MUSTARD

1. Take 2TB of the yellow mustard seeds and grind them into a powder using a spice or coffee bean grinder.
2. Put the powder in a medium size non-metal bowl (enough to handle all of the ingredients) and add to that the remaining yellow mustard seeds and the black mustard seeds.
3. Heat the beer, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, honey, brown sugar, turmeric, nutmeg, and salt in a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the liquid has reduced by about half.
4. Pour the liquid over the mustard seeds in the bowl. Run the mixture through a food processor until it has achieved your desired consistency (the mixture will thicken up some in the refrigerator) leaving some whole seeds intact.
5. Put the finished product in a sterilized Kilner jar (or other canning/glass jar.) I had a glass canister (with NO metal on it!!) that I dampened and microwaved for a minute or so to sterilize it–that should do the trick.
6. Refrigerate and age for about 24-48 hours. If you’ve properly sterilized your jars, the mixture should last for several months in the refrigerator.
7. Serve the soft beer pretzels with the beer mustard.