Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup

mary winecoff's Note:

This soup uses a bottle of Michelob Amber Bock beer. Rich and creamy and perfect for those cold winter nights.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 12 ounces bock beer
• 8 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, minced
• 1/4 cup sweet red pepper, minced
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Open beer and let stand while dicing vegetables.
2. Saute bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble.
3. In large soup kettle, saute vegetables in two tablespoon of bacon grease until soft.
4. Add chicken broth.
5. Fill chicken can with beer and add to mixture.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
7. Pour remaining beer into a small mixing bowl and whisk in flour.
8. Gradually add to broth, stirring constantly, till thick.
9. Add half and half, bacon and cheese.
10. Heat until cheese melts.
11. Stir in sugar.
12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Reviews

[twinmom0]

This was delicious! I went to college in Wisconsin and have fond memories of great beer cheese soup. I made some changes that worked out well. I used an authentic German Hefe Weissen in stead of a Bock. I used extra sharp cheddar and ended up adding 3 cups at the end instead of 2. I used turkey bacon and fat free half and half to lighten it up. Because the turkey bacon didn't produce enough bacon grease I used vegetable oil instead. I added a cup of chopped broccoli florets with the other vegetables. I made some sourdough croutons and sprinkled them on top. We will definitely be making this again!

[CulinaryExplorer]

We think this is more like 3 and half stars but its better than just a 3 so we opted for a 4. The beer taste just seems too bitter for this and we even added about another cup of cheese. Maybe a pale ale would have been better for this. Or some other addition to sorta balance out that bitterness. We did think it was better paired with either bread or crackers. We did forget the sweet red pepper but I don't think they would have made the deciding difference for us.

[3TXCooks]

Very tasty, and rich! I added a 1/2 tsp dry mustard and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, and I purreed the entire soup in the blender to give it a smooth consistency (before adding bacon). Very tasty...I would cut down a bit on the sugar next time to make it a bit less sweet. Overall great!