Beer Cheese Soup Recipe
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Ah, autumn. Crisp blue skies, the crunch of leaves, cozy wool sweaters, a bowl of hot, hearty soup. The shorter days and cooler air means it's time to bring out the soup pot. And there is perhaps no soup that better evokes the flavors and feel of fall than creamy beer cheese soup.
The bold flavors of this recipe are not for the timid. Use a quality, aged sharp Cheddar and a dark beer, like an amber or brown ale, for a deeper, richer taste. Serve the soup with crusty bread and sweet pickles. Pair it, of course, with a pint of beer. The dark-roasted malt flavor of Guinness Extra Stout is a good match for the tangy Cheddar cheese.
Beer Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 4 cups chicken stock, heated to a bare simmer
- 1 12 oz.bottle stout beer, at room temperature
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Preparation
- Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Add red pepper and garlic and continue to cook, stir for another 3 minutes, stirring.
- As the vegetables are cooking, combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour turns light brown, stirring continuously.
- Stir in the chicken stock and ale and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then gradually stir in the milk. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Return soup to low heat. Gradually stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, stirring until melted before adding more.Stir in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, and serve.
If desired, garnish with red pepper flakes, crumbled bacon bits, croutons, or sliced jalapeño peppers.
Additional reading
Immersion Blenders on Amazon.com
Comments
AUTHORThanks, Linda! But beer cheese soup isn't all that unique in the Midwest.
- AUTHOR
You are quite the bacon fan, aren't you, Poetry man? : )
Deb, you are truly the queen of unique recipes! Beer Cheese Soup :)
Beer, bacon and butter. What could possibly go wrong?
- AUTHOR
Thanks, oceansunsets! I am surprised you hadn't heard of it before. Beer cheese seems to be pretty popular in the Midwest. Or maybe it is mostly a Wisconsin thing. They do love their beer and cheese in Wisconsin. : ) Happy New Year to you!
Hello Deborah, this soup sounds so strange at first thought or glance, but I now know it is actually very good! We were on a trip this last summer and stopped in the Arches National Park, and a restaurant we were at had this. It sounded so strange. The waitress said it is very popular, and is worth a try! So I did. Wow, it was so good. So now I see a recipe for it here, and I am so glad to find it!
Thank you for sharing it, and after we try it sometime, I will have to let you know how we liked it! So glad you shared it. Happy New Year!
- AUTHOR
Thanks, DDE. Soup is my specialty. I am always coming up with new recipes. I must admit, this was my first attempt at a cheese soup. But it worked out well.
A different combination for a soup and sound tasty
- AUTHOR
Wow. It's so great to see all these comments on this hub. Thanks, everyone. It must be the cold winter weather that has us all dreaming of a nice bowl of hot, cheesy soup. : )
I hate beer, but I have to say, this sounds really good! Pinning this one!
I don't drink beer, but I have a feeling the combination of beer and cheese and all of your ingredients will amount to delicious. This is definitely worth trying.
I've read this before but came across it again. Glad for the reminder. I don't like drinking dark beer, but I bet it gives the soup a great flavor. I need to remember to try this. :-)
This soup looks and sounds so good. I love your fall photo too. I already miss all that color. Thanks for sharing!
I love beer and I love cheese so I have to give this a try. Voted up and pinned to my Easy, Health, Affordable Recipes board
Mmm, this looks delicious! I like the idea of pairing the cheese with a dark beer. I want to try this sometime. It looks like a very good comfort soup.
Thanks for sharing this with us, and have a fantastic day. Stay warm!
~ Kathryn
Yum! Voted up and sharing. This would be good with some homemade bread on this cold January day.
- AUTHOR
Thanks for commenting and sharing, GTF and Crystal. The key to this soup is good ingredients. Use good cheese AND beer. Enjoy!
I don't like beer much, but this actually sounds good, especially on a cool fall night. Sharing this one.
Came back to revisit this on this cool weekend. Yummy!
- AUTHOR
Oh yeah, Vinaya! Enjoy.
I love stand alone beer, cheese and soup. I cannot wait to have these three best things in one.
- AUTHOR
It's very big here in the Midwest, Torrilynn. I had never made it before until my friend who was visiting from Florida asked for it. It's a great autumn dish.
Ive never heard of beer cheese soup until I came across this recipe. Interesting. thanks for the hub.
- AUTHOR
Thanks, WokandRoll, and welcome to Hubpages. I've checked out a few of your hubs and will be following you now. And, yes, wait until fall or winter for this soup; it's pretty hearty.
I'm not a huge beer fan, but I've had beer-cheese dips before, and they were pretty fantastic. Given my love of cheese, this recipe seems right up my alley. I'll have to bookmark it for the colder months--it's too hot for soup right now! Thanks for sharing.
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Cogerson. Did you get a chance to try it? If so, was it worthy of your five star vote? : )
A very interesting recipe that we might have to try on this very cold spring weekend. Thanks for sharing....voted a 5 on your vote box.
- AUTHOR
Thanks for the report back. I'll have to add some Parmesan next time. Glad you enjoyed it!
We had this soup today for lunch and wow, is it yummy! I used Peruvian black beer (since that's what we have) and Andino cheese, our closest substitute for cheddar. I added a little parmesan for sharpness and it was super delicious. Thank you!
- AUTHOR
I've never had Peruvian beer; sounds interesting. But it must be tough to go without all of your favorites from home.
Love this idea, anything that contains Stout can´t be bad. How i miss Guinness although i will try this with Cusqueña malta, peru´s sweeter version of Guinness
- AUTHOR
Thanks for reading and commenting, sgbrown, Peggy, and unknown spy. I love making soup of all sorts and whip up a big pot of soup at least once a week.
never heard of this before. very unique :)
Hi Deborah,
I love making homemade soups on a year round basis and this one of yours caught my eye. Sounds and looks delicious! Gave it 5 stars and will have to make it soon. Thanks for your recipe. Up, useful and sharing.
This sounds so good! I had forgotten that I had tried a beer cheese soup somewhere, I can't even remember where now, but I loved it! I am definitely going to give this a try. My hubby should love it too! Great recipe and I love the picture! Voted up and useful! :)
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Audra! I loved that picture, too, and had to find a way to use it in a hub.
- AUTHOR
Thanks for the comment, Jennifer. If you do try the soup, please stop back and let me know how it goes.
hmmm... looks and sounds really tasty... bookmarking it for later so I can give it a go... thanks! Votes and all sorts... all the best, Jen
This sounds so good and rich!/I really love the pic you took at the bottom!!! Look at that blue skies beyond the beautiful foliage!!
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Victoria Lynn! I hope you give it a try some day.
Looks amazing! Great comfort food for winter! I must pin this one for later! :-)
- AUTHOR
Thanks, midget! If you love bold flavors, this is the soup for you. Enjoy!
I enjoy bold flavors, sort of a person who loves stronger tastes. This would go well with me! Am pinning and sharing!
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Nell. Let me know what you think after your try it.
Sounds absolutely delicious! I will definitely be trying it, voted up! nell
- AUTHOR
Thanks to you all for your comments, Denise, cookaholic, Gails, Jools, Jordan, teaches, random, and GTF. If you do try it, please stop back to let me know what you think and to rate the recipe.
I've had this at restaurants but now I can make it at home. Thanks! this looks wonderful! Pinned.
Now that we live in Wisconsin, I really need to make a beer soup sometime. Thanks for the great recipe!
I can see this as a big hit for those football game TV watching events. I don't drink, but the flavor of the soup with the cheese is tempting.
Gonna be trying this one out!! Sounds so tasty!
Deb, I'm not a beer person (well not in sauces etc) but I have to say, this sounds intriguing and I bet with cheese...Mmmmm, I may give it a try!
I have never had cooked with beer, but I do love soup. So maybe I should try this recipe. Thanks!
Definately one I shall be trying out very soon, I make lots of soup and the mix of flavours you have in here sounds divine.
Sounds delicious. I'll be sure to let you know when I give this one a try. BTW-after reading your hub about the butternut squash soup I went out to find a hand blender, haha. Thanks Rated up/shared.
Duh, wine on the side! Awesome idea! Enjoy your weekend:)
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Linda. Not sure about wine in the soup, but a nice glass of white wine on the side? Sure! Thanks for stopping by and for the tweet.
Beer cheese soup? Who woulda thought? Not me, yet you rocked it. I like cheese soup, not sure about the beer, could I use white wine instead? :) UP! Awesome! Tweet!
- AUTHOR
Thanks, anupma. Please stop back and let me know how it goes over at your party.
- AUTHOR
Thanks, DanaTeresa! I hope your friends like it.
- AUTHOR
Thanks, Janine. I appreciate the vote and shares. I hope you and your husband enjoy it!
- AUTHOR
Rich, I'm more of a veggie gal, myself, but when my friend visiting from Florida asked me to make her beer cheese soup, I thought, why not. And I was pretty impressed with what I came up with. I hope your wife is willing to give it a try for you. : )
- AUTHOR
Vespawoolf, definitely one to save for cheat day. Unfortunately, this isn't one of my healthier recipes, but sometimes it's fine to cheat. Thanks for the comment.
Yummy, I am sure it will be great in taste. I will serve it in some party. Thanks for sharing such delicious and yummy soup.
Oh this looks SO good. I instantly know of two people I must share this with immediately! Voted up and "yummy" :)
Deborah, this truly sounds like delicious soup and am pinning to try to make for my husband soon. Have also voted and shared too.
Deborah -
This looks good, and I am not usually a cheese type of person. Got to let the wife take a look to see if she's willing to attempt it! Great Job!
My hubby, who is on a high protein diet, is drooling at the Guinness photo! Definitely going to try this on his cheat day! Thanks so much...loved your opening paragraph.
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