Whether you just can't seem to get enough beer in your diet or love a warm bowl of comfort food, German Beer Cheese Soup makes for a great appetizer or meal in itself. You can use it as a dipping sauce for warm, soft pretzels or just guzzle it down to fill your belly, but either way your taste buds are sure to dance with happiness the moment this delicious soup hits your lips! Typically prepared in the fall or winter to warm yourself on a cold day, this soup is actually quite light and can be enjoyed year-round. It's cheesy and full of wonderful hoppy aromatics so taking leftovers to work means you can have the whole office ready to ditch work and hit up happy hour the moment you reheat your little bowl of heaven! This one is truly for all you beer and cheese lovers out there. I mean, I doubt anyone that doesn't like that combination actually exists, but this one's definitely for you...Let's Get Cooking!
There are actually a couple different ways to start off this German Beer Cheese Soup recipe, so I will start off with the easy method and later discuss other options. Rough chop a carrot and onion and place them into a food processor along with some garlic. Puree these veggies until they become a paste-like consistency. You could also skip this puree step for now and begin sautéing these veggies, but you will have to go back later on and use an immersion blender to thin down your soup. It's ultimately up to you, but I think it's easier and speeds up the cooking process to go ahead and puree now so make your call and stick to your guns. If you prefer a bit more bite to your soup, puree your veggies to the consistency seen below. Otherwise, let that food processor rip and turn this mixture into a mush that will dissolve into your soup. Either way, we are getting all those flavors in there so it's all just personal preference.
Once your veggies are prepped, melt some butter in a medium pot and add the pureed mixture. Sauté these veggies over Medium heat for about 10 minutes until they are softened and aromatic. There is still plenty of cooking time remaining in this recipe so don't get too fussy about this first step. Fully pureed veggies will take a little shorter amount of time whereas more rough chopped veggies will likely require a few additional minutes. This veggie mixture should release a fair amount of natural liquids during their cooking process which is key for the next step.
After about 10 minutes, sprinkle the mixture with AP Flour and stir/whisk continuously for 3-4 minutes until the flour browns and forms a roux. This is what will thicken up our soup and add a ton of flavor so take your time and make sure you keep stirring everything to prevent anything from sticking or burning on the bottom of your pot. As you can see below, it will tighten up quite a bit.
Next, combine the milk and heavy cream into a single container and slowly pour it into your pot with the veggie roux. Be sure to keep stirring during this process to get all the ingredients combined to form our soup base. If you are not very coordinated and able to pour and stir simultaneously, just add a 1/4 cup or so of the milk/cream mixture at a time and stir until it mixes in with the veggies. Repeat that process until all the liquids have been added.
Add your beer and mustard at this point and increase the heat to Medium-High. Continue to whisk the soup as it comes up to a boil, until all the foam subsides. Be sure you get it up to full boiling temperature to actually cook off the alcohol. Otherwise, you will have some legit beer in your final product, but heh, that isn't necessarily all that bad, eh?
When the foam has subsided and you reached the full boiling point, reduce the temperature down to Low and simmer the soup for about 10 minutes to allow that veggies roux time to thicken up the milk and cream into the perfect soup base.
Once your soup has thickened, remove the pot from the heat and add the shredded cheese a handful at a time. Stir in each handful of cheese until it is fully melted and incorporated before adding more. Repeat this process until all the cheese has been added and your German Beer Cheese Soup is just about complete. Give it a taste test and add any salt or pepper as needed. If you left your veggies rough chopped in the beginning, use an immersion blender to break everything down before adding your shredded cheese.
Believe it or not, that actually wraps up this simple German Beer Cheese Soup! You can dish it into a bowl and enjoy it as is, or get ahold of some fresh, warm soft pretzels and dip away! I enjoyed it both ways, myself, and ate it as a soup with a few bites of soft pretzel here and there. It's actually quite light for a cheese soup so it won't be as thick and hearty as you may expect. It's still very filling, but can be enjoyed year-round rather than just the fall and winter months like most other cheese soups. No matter how you choose to enjoy it, just get in the kitchen and make a batch for your family as everyone is sure to love it...Just Keep Cooking!
GERMAN BEER CHEESE SOUP
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