Vegan Beer Cheese Dip: Easy Nut-Free Appetizer Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What beer goes best in beer cheese dip? ›

Fruity wheat beers pair especially well with cheese! Dark Beers: Stouts and porters also make a great beer cheese sauce, but are best paired with a sharp, funky cheese that can stand up to their strong, rich flavors. Super-hoppy IPAs: If you love this style of beer, go for it.

Lager is a family of beers that includes bright lagers, amber lagers, dark lagers, Oktoberfests, and pilsners. 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!

The result is a creamy, cheesy dip or spread that is perfect for dipping pretzels, crackers, or vegetables, and is a great way to start off a meal or as an addition to a snack platter. Beer cheese can also be used as a topping for burgers, nachos, pizza, and more.

Beer cheese dip is a cheese spread typically made with sharp cheddar, beer, garlic, and spices, served with crackers or crudités as an appetizer.

Can I serve beer cheese dip to kids? It's a little tricky. Most of the alcohol cooks off, leaving just the beer's flavor behind. While some residual alcohol could remain, it's a very minor amount.

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.

But you can also grab a small saucepan, add 1/2 cup of your existing cheese dip and a little flour or cornstarch (try 1 teaspoon at a time), and whisk to combine over low heat. Add this back in to your other pan of sauce and stir until incorporated (repeat as necessary to get the consistency you're after).

But beer cheese? It's a Kentucky thing. Nearly every brewery and brewpub menu around Louisville has an iteration of the mouth-watering appetizer: most traditionally a combination of cheddar cheese, beer, cayenne pepper, paprika and some garlic.

Most varieties come in "mild" and "hot" versions, but all tend to have a strong garlic flavor. Beer cheese is traditionally served with saltine crackers, although it can be found served with various other crackers and crudités, most often as an appetizer.

Can anyone eat beer cheese? ›

Rest assured, while beer cheese does contain alcohol, it's typically not enough to give anyone a buzz. For starters, the ratio of the beer itself depends on the recipe you're following — and you can choose one that has less alcohol if you are concerned.

If the beer cheese arrives within the 3-day window, it is perfectly safe to eat.

As long as you keep the Beer Cheese Dip tightly sealed in an airtight container like tupperware or a freezer bag it should last you up to about 6 months. Just be careful not to let excess moisture into the dip or it will spoil.

Beer cheese and other sauces that have been cooked over a stove and brought to a boil for a brief period retain approximately 85% alcohol from added spirits. Yet cooking liquids at 173 F promotes evaporation.

Watch the Heat: If your heat is too high when you add in the cheese, it can cause the sauce to break and become grainy or gritty. To avoid this, make sure your sauce is hot but not quite bubbling when adding the cheese.

Stella Artois

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

IPAs can be a little hit or miss with this recipe, but Pale Ales, Stouts, and Porters typically work well. Baguettes are our bread of choice for french dips, but you can use any sandwich roll you like.

We're happiest tossing back a frosty light pilsner, lager, pale ale (or two!) with a serving of salty, fresh Wisconsin cheese curds.

So if you are looking for big and bold go with an India Pale Ale or an American Pale Ale. If you are looking for more balance, go with an Irish dry stout or a porter.