Grab your favorite flavorful beer and whip up a batch of this beer cheese dip. Serve it with an assortment of pretzels, vegetables, crackers, and apples.
The Best Beer Cheese Dip
If you are looking for a cheesy appetizer that is ready in under 15 minutes and incredibly cheesy and delicious, this beer cheese dip is the appetizer you are looking for.
We are all about making this beer cheese dip for game day, get togethers, or even as a fun appetizer on a week night. You can really change up this dip by what you serve it with.
Let’s make some thick and creamy beer cheese dip.
Ingredients for Beer Cheese Dip
You only need 10 ingredients to make this thick and creamy beer cheese dip. Below are the ingredients you need with a few suggestions of substitutions.
- Butter and flour: create a roux that thickens the dip. Make sure to fully incorporate the roux into the milk before adding the cheese.
- Milk: helps thin the sauce so it’s easy to dip. If your dip becomes too thick after adding the cheese, thin it with a few tablespoons of milk.
- Beer: we are using a lager but you could also use a pale ale, blonde ale, or wheat beer. Just avoid stouts and sours!
- Cheese: we love the combination of mozzarella and cheddar– it melts smoothly and gives great flavor! But you could swap out the cheese for what you have on hand– gruyere, fontina, monterrey jack, etc.
- Garlic powder: adds a bit of earthiness to the dip.
- Ground stone mustard: mustard give the dip that classic “pretzel and cheese” flavor. Yum! Feel free to swap it for dijon mustard.
make it spicy
If you like spice, feel free to add hot sauce, cayenne, or red pepper flakes to taste!
How to Make Beer Cheese Dip
Make a roux
A roux is used as a base for pasta sauces and dips. It is a combination of fat (in the case butter), flour, and a liquid (in this case milk). You make a paste like mixture and then slowly add milk to the flour and butter.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the flour. Whisk the two ingredients together until a crumbly mixture is made.
Add milk
When the roux is ready you slowly add milk to the sauce whisking constantly. Heat the milk over medium/low heat until it thickens.
Add the beer
Slowly add the beer to the milk mixture and continue to whisk the beer into the milk mixture. Heat until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
Whisk in the cheese + Spices
Add the mozzarella, cheddar cheese, mustard, and spices to the dip and stir until the cheese is melted and the beer cheese dip is smooth and creamy.
Serve
Serve the beer cheese dip in the saucepan or pour the dip into a serving dish.
What to Serve with Beer Cheese Dip
You can serve this beer cheese dip with so many different things. Below are some great options to serve with your beer cheese dip.
- soft pretzels or soft pretzel bites
- crackers
- tortilla chips
- apples
- cauliflower
- broccoli
Beer Cheese Dip Tips & Tricks
BEST BEER FOR BEER CHEESE dip
We love using a lager for beer cheese dip, but really any wheat beer will work such as a pale ale, pilsner or an amber.
DON’T MELT CHEESE OVER HIGH HEAT
DO NOT add in the cheese over high heat. Cheese is finicky and drastic temperature changes can cause it to become clumpy and grainy.
USING A DIFFERENT CHEESE
You sure can! We love the flavor and color that sharp yellow cheddar gives this beer cheese dip, but feel free to sub any semi-hard cheese 1:1. We recommend the following:
- White cheddar
- Medium cheddar
- Gruyere
- Gouda
- Fontina
How to Store Beer Cheese Dip
Store this beer cheese dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When Reheating Beer Cheese dip: we recommend reheating just like it’s cooked — LOW AND SLOW! Reheat on the stovetop on low, stirring frequently. This will help prevent any separating or uneven reheating. You may need to add a little milk or broth when reheating if the dip is too thick. Start with a tablespoon and increase from there.
Freezing Beer Cheese Dip: because cheese has a difficult time with drastic temperature changes, we do NOT recommend freezing this dip!
Get More
Cheddar Cheese Recipes
Looking for more recipes with cheddar cheese? Check out our cheesy collection of cheddar cheese recipes.
Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup beer a lager or ale would be great
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat.
- Once the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk until a paste forms.
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Next whisk in the beer.
- Continue whisking until no lumps of flour remain. Cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes or until it begins to bubble and thicken.
- Then, add the mozzarella, cheddar, garlic powder, and mustard.
- Mix until the cheeses are fully melted– about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the dip from the heat and serve with vegetables, sliced apples, or warm pretzels.
Tips & Notes
- This dip is best enjoyed on the day it is made and it can be kept warm in a slow cooker on the lowest setting– just make sure to stir it occasionally so it doesn’t form a skin on top.
