Beer Cheese Soup

Wisconsin-style
Serves 6
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 yellow onion, large, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 carrots, medium, diced
  • 1/2 red or orange bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable as substitute)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 12 oz beer, well-balanced or predominantly malty
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp dry mustard, (ready powdered or grind whole mustard seed)
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ground
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 3 stalks green onion, green part only, chopped, for garnish
  • bread croutons, optional, for garnish
Directions
  1. Heat a heavy bottom pot/large saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt.
  2. Add the diced onion, celery, carrots, pepper and garlic and sauté until softened, stirring occasionally. About 5-6 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle the flour and mix well. Cook for about a minute, stirring frequently.
  4. While stirring add the chicken broth, the cream and the beer. Mix well and add the seasonings - salt and pepper, mustard, Worcestershire and red pepper flakes.
  5. Let simmer for about 5 minutes and then remove from the stove. Take out the bay leaf.
  6. Transfer to a blender to puree but work in small batches to avoid the hot liquid blowing up.
  7. Add the cheese to the pureed soup base working in batches and stirring. Place the pot back on the stove. Heat up over low heat to blend all the flavors, about 3-5 mins.
  8. Serve right away, garnished with green onions and croutons (optional).
Notes

For best results choose a beer that is not aggressively hoppy such as English or American amber ale or lager, brown ale, German helles, Vienna lager, dunkel, bock, doppelbock. This is a very rich, very flavorful soup - serve in combination with lighter fare or as main course, especially if accompanied by soft pretzels. The beer cheese soup can be reheated - for best results warm up leftover quantity in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally.

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