Photo courtesy of Palermo Villa, Inc.
Pizza and beer go hand in hand, so when Palermo Villa, Inc. pizza company heard the suggestion “You’re in Milwaukee—why not beer?” during a consumer panel, their R&D wheels started turning. This past summer, the company launched ‘Za Brewski beer pizzas as part of its Screamin’ Sicilian frozen pizza line. The pizzas are made with Leinenkugel’s Original classic American Pilsner infused into the crust, along with beer-flavored cheese sauces and other premium craft ingredients.
‘Za Brewski is available in four varieties: Philly Cheesesteak, featuring steak strips, green peppers and caramelized onions; Pepperoni, with pepperoni and diced provolone; Hot Italian Sausage, topped with sliced hot Italian sausage and sliced pepperoni; and BBQ Meatball, with beer-glazed mini meatballs and roasted red onions. All four varieties have the Leinenkugel’s Original Beer-Infused Crust, along with beer cheese sauce, whole milk mozzarella, and parmesan and Romano cheese.
“Our new Screamin’ Sicilian ‘Za Brewski made with Leinenkugel’s Beer is for the more adventurous pizza connoisseur,” states Nick Fallucca, chief product and innovation officer for Palermo Villa. He’s the grandson of Palermo founders Gaspare “Jack” and Zina Fallucca. Palermo’s first began in 1964 as an Italian bakery on Milwaukee’s East Side. The Falluccas opened Palermo Villa pizzeria in 1969 and began manufacturing frozen pizzas a decade later.
Palermo’s had worked with a local beer distributor and tested making crusts with a number of different styles of beer. Fallucca says they held blind taste tests with a group of employees, and Leinenkugel’s Original won hands down. “It had a preferred taste profile and was exactly what we were looking for.”
Because water is a primary ingredient when making pizza crust dough, the Palermo’s team had to find a way to replace the water with beer. “While that seems like a simple swap of ingredients, there were some challenges,” Fallucca notes. “We had to get the ratio right and then scale it to large-scale batches. We created a machine in house, affectionately called ‘Ursula,’ that pumps beer from kegs into the dough mixture. It took a while to perfect that process, but our food scientists and bakery experts got it right.”
Leinenkugel’s Original is the first classic American Pilsner from Leinie’s. It’s brewed with pale malts and cluster hops. That unique combination of definitive flavors comes through in the crust, and the beer adds a unique crispy texture to the final product.
Beer has always been a versatile ingredient for baking. Beer bread, a simple batter bread, has graced many kitchen tables over the years. Then there’s beer soup. Beer cheese. Beer dip. Chocolate stout cake. Beer braised stew. Beer chili. Beer fondue. Fallucca notes there are a couple of other small local operations that have tried beer flavored pizza, but Palermo’s strove to pair their popular made-in-Milwaukee Screamin’ Sicilian line with Leinenkugel’s for a true Wisconsin product.
“Our new ‘Za Brewski made with Leinenkugel’s Original Beer pizzas make a nice addition to any beer lover’s menu,” Fallucca concludes. “It’s a great pizza to bake and share with friends and family while watching the game.”
Screamin’ Sicilian ‘Za Brewski pizzas with Leinenkugel’s Original-infused crust can be found at Piggly Wiggly, Woodman’s, Sendik’s, Festival Foods and Kroger/Pick n Save.
For more information, visit palermospizza.com or leinie.com.
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