Wisconsin Style Beer Cheese Soup

We recently had a beer and sake tasting party – where everyone brought their favorite to be sampled. I thought that beer cheese soup would be the perfect food to go with the beer.

I started by melting butter in my soup pot (yeah, this is not a healthy soup).

Next I added diced onion, celery, and carrot.

I wanted the soup to be smooth – with no chunks of vegetables. So after the vegetables were soft, I pureed them with a stick blender.

Next I added flour to make a roux, and cooked the rawness out.

Then I added the stock, beer, half and half, salt, dry mustard, and Worcestershire.

Finally, I added the cheese – a combo of cheddar and swiss.

The result was a smooth, decadent soup with a bit of a tang.

Beer Cheese Soup
adapted from Food Network
Serves 8-10

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 chopped medium sized yellow onion
3/4 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 (12-ounce) beer of choice (I used Sam Adams)
7 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, shredded
7 oz processed Swiss cheese, shredded
2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Melt butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until softened. Puree with a stick blender.

Add flour. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add chicken broth and beer. Heat until it comes to a boil. Add half-and-half, salt, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.

Slowly add cheese while stirring until just boiling and smooth. Reduce heat to low and cook until soup has thickened.