Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (2024)

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This Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup recipe is hearty, smooth, smoky, and stout making it the best rich indulgence to help ring in the holiday season.

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (1)

Today we're talking soup...and Octoberfest and beer and cheese.

But mostly just beer and cheese.

Here in SC it's still hot as Hades, with the heat index still maxing out in the 90's, but we're starting to move into the end of October, and I had a hankering for some beer cheese soup in my life.

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup to be precise.

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (2)

I've actually had this recipe in my arsenal since last year (when I fully intended to post it), but if 2020 has taught us anything at all, it's that life sure is unpredictable ain't it?!?!?

The great thing about Beer Cheese Soup, though, is that it is versatile too so you can mix and match and switch the ingredients around to fit the time of year.

What's the Best Beer for Beer Cheese Soup?

The best beer for beer cheese soup is truly up to you.

You can use all kinds of different beers to suit your mood or the holidays. The most important fact to remember, though, just as when cooking with wine, if you don't like drinking it, you won't like eating it.

Darker beers like stouts or Irish Reds would make for a fantastic Beer Cheese Soup for St. Patrick's Day, but keep in mind the darker bitter beers like IPAs will pass along their bitter flavor to the soup.

German Pilsners, light lagers, and any of the standard domestic beers on the market are also ok: Kolsch, Budweiser, Bud Light, Becks, Fat Tire, Sam Adams, Killians, etc. are all great choices.

Pumpkin Beers, Ciders, and Non-Alcoholic beer are just as delicious too!

Today we're going for a tried and true favorite, Octoberfest, because it's the perfect time of year for it!

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (3)

What's the Best Cheese to Use for Beer Cheese Soup?

The best cheese to use for beer cheese soup is easy. Use the best cheese you can find! Some may argue with you, but the cheese really is the star of the show in Beer Cheese Soup.

Two important rules here:

  1. Be sure to use a high-quality cheese, and switch it around for the seasons too! Irish cheddar for St. Patricks Day, etc. You can use any kind of cheese you wish, really, but I prefer to use sharp cheddar and gruyere because their strong flavors balance nicely with the twang of the Octoberfest beer and they both melt really well.
  2. You *CANNOT* use pre-shredded cheese from a bag. REPEAT. You *CANNOT* USE pre-shredded cheese from a bag for beer cheese soup! Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents in it which will prevent it from melting, causing your Beer Cheese to be stringy and gritty. Bleck.
Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (4)

Tips for Making Beer Cheese Soup

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup is a souper (see what I did there) quick recipe to make, and following these simple tips will offer smooth sailing to suppertime:

  • Make sure your cheese, beer, stock, and cream are at room temp or at least have the chill off of them. This will allow for even mixing and will help prevent clumping.
  • Pour beer in slowly, gently whisking after each addition until bubbles dissipate.
  • Do not let the temperature get too high! Cook over medium heat and allow the temperature to rise slowly.
  • Remove the pot from the heat before stirring in the cheese. Adding cheese to a soup that's too hot will cause the cheese to separate and look curdled.
  • Don't like chunky soup? Puree the veggies in a food processor before cooking or follow the tips at the end of the post to puree the entire batch of soup!

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (5)

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (6)Amber

THIS OCTOBERFEST BEER CHEESE SOUP IS HEARTY, SMOOTH, SMOKY AND STOUT MAKING IT A PERFECTLY RICH INDULGENCE TO HELP RING IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Entree, Soup

Cuisine American, German

Servings 12

Calories

Ingredients

  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 4 tablespoon butter
  • ½ onion (1 cup) minced
  • 2 stalks celery (1 cup) minced
  • 1 carrot (1 cup) minced
  • 2 cloves garlic (2 tsp) minced
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 (12 oz.) bottles Octoberfest beer I used Sam Adams
  • 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 16 ounces extra sharp cheese shredded
  • 8 ounces gruyere cheese (or more sharp cheddar)
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • Smoked paprika, pretzels, bacon crumbles, fresh parsley, extra cheese and a drizzle cream, for garnish

Instructions

  • Line a plate with a paper towel and set aside. Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, and add bacon. Fry until golden and crisp to your liking then remove to the paper towel-lined plate and reserve the drippings.

  • Add butter to the drippings followed by the onion, celery, carrots, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften. About 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

  • Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until well incorporated and the rawness has cooked out. About 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the beer, followed by the stock and cream, whisking constantly until the mixture smooths out and thickens. Heat until just bubbling then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, whisking often to ensure the bottom doesn’t scorch.

  • Sprinkle in the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking after each handful until the cheese is completely melted into the soup. Stir in the mustard, nutmeg, and black pepper. Adjust salt if needed.

  • Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of smoked paprika, crunchy pretzels, salty bacon, bright fresh parsley, and a drizzle of cream.

For a Super Dreamy & Creamy Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup:

  • Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until silky smooth.

  • If using a blender, allow the beer cheese soup to cool for 5 minutes before pureeing.Puree the soup in batches in a high powered blender. Add a few ladles full of soup to the blender, replace the lid, hold a thick towel over the top, then puree until the soup is completely smooth.

  • Once all of the soup is pureed, add it all back to the stockpot and heat until steaming and warm. Garnish and serve.

Keyword beer, beer cheese soup, cheddar cheese, cheese, octoberfest, sharp cheddar, shredded cheese

Tried this recipe? Let us know!Mention @slimpickinskitchen or use or tag #slimpickinskitchen

Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (7)
Octoberfest Beer Cheese Soup Recipe | Best Beer Cheese Soup (2024)

FAQs

What is the best beer for beer cheese? ›

I used Fat Tire because that what I had on hand, but Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite are all good options. No need to use anything fancy! What brands of cheese do you recommend? For the Cheddar, you can use a good supermarket brand, like Cabot or Tillamook.

What is beer soup made of? ›

The early beer soups were typically based on dark beer, cream and egg yolk thickened with fat and flour cooked together in a roux. Eventually they were flavored with onions, salt, pepper, spices and cheese to create a more substantial and satisfying dish.

Why did my beer cheese soup curdle? ›

Why did my beer cheese soup curdle? This happens when the proteins separate and bind together. Your soup is no longer smooth and creamy; it's grainy and unpleasant. If your soup has reached this state, take your soup off the heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded Velveeta cheese.

How do you make beer soup less bitter? ›

To counteract any bitterness, include an acidic ingredient, like lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard; something sweet, like honey or caramelized onions; or a fat, like oil or cheese.

Can beer cheese go bad? ›

The Maggie Beer cheeses included in our hampers are made fresh and have an approximate refrigerated 'best by' shelf life of 23 days. Cheese ripens and develops its characteristic flavours over time, and will be at peak flavour if enjoyed close to the 'best by' date.

How much alcohol is in beer cheese? ›

Roughly speaking: Beer cheese sauce, bourbon caramel and other sauces brought to a boil and then removed from the heat typically retain about 85 percent of the alcohol. Diane, cherries jubilee and other recipes that flame the alcohol may still have 75 percent of the alcohol.

What does beer cheese soup taste like? ›

“This beer cheese soup is creamy and rich, with a nice balance of flavors,” says recipe tester and test kitchen expert Julia Levy. “The beer adds a nice 'earthiness,' which complements the mustard and cheddar cheese well.”

What does adding beer to soup do? ›

Beer adds a rich, earthy flavor to soups and stews that makes them taste like they've been simmering for hours. Beers with a sweet or nutty taste can add depth to desserts. And don't worry about getting drunk – virtually all of the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.

Why do people put beer in soup? ›

Cooking with beer gives your food a deeper and earthier flavor. It is perfect for dishes like soup, stew, chili, and even baked goods. You can use it in just about any cooking technique like braising, deglazing, marinating, simmering, baking, and more.

How to fix broken beer cheese soup? ›

i work at a brewpub that serves a beer cheese soup we heat it up slowly and when it does break you can pour in some cold heavy cream and re-emulsify it.

What kind of cheese melts best in soup? ›

Mild cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, mozzarella, Swiss and queso blanco can all work well. “The best cheeses to melt into soups are cheeses that are higher in moisture and have a lower melting point,” says Bauer. In addition to cheddar and Monterey jack, he recommends Fontina and Gruyère.

How to avoid cheese curdling in soup? ›

How to add cheese to soup without curdling - Quora. Don't heat the soup above 165 degrees. At that point the butter fat separates from the milk solids. That is for real cheese, not the processed cheeses that have binders and starches added.

How do you fix bad taste in soup? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

What neutralizes bitter taste? ›

Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish. Firstly, it balances against bitterness.

Why does my soup have a bitter aftertaste? ›

Onion skins, herb stems, peppercorns, brassicas, bitter greens, and tough celery greens are some of the suspected causes of bitter broth.

What kind of beer is best for beer bread? ›

Lighter beers, such as lagers, ales and pilsners, will give your bread a lighter color, and mild taste that just about everyone loves. Darker beers like stouts and porters make a darker-colored loaf and have a stronger beer flavor. Hoppy beers like IPAs will give your bread a more bitter taste.

Is Stella Artois good for beer cheese? ›

Stella Artois

The crisp carbonation and fermentation-led style also cuts through the fat in cheese and cleanses the palate.

What beers pair well with cheese? ›

Beer & Cheese Pairing Guide
  • Wheat Beer With Aged Goat Cheese. ...
  • Sour Ale With Fatty Cheese. ...
  • American Lager With Cheese Spread. ...
  • American Pale Ale With American Cheddar. ...
  • IPA's & Clothbound Cheddars. ...
  • Farmhouse Ales & Alpine Styles. ...
  • Belgian Ales & Washed Rinds. ...
  • Amber Ales & Aged Sheep's Milk Cheese.
Apr 15, 2024

What is the best beer to cook with? ›

Wheat beers are great for chicken and seafood. If you're cooking pork, beef, and lamb, you will need ales, porters, and stouts. Hearty meat goes well with belgian ales. Stews pair well with ale.

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