Beer Cheese Soup

Hard to beat and easy to make; beer cheese soup is a big hit around here once the mercury drops. Checkout this awesome recipe for beer cheese soup that was submitted by one of our friends!

Ingredients
4 tbsp. butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/3 cup flour
12 oz milk
16 oz chicken stock
12 oz dark beer (used Brown Ale)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard & smoked paprika (no recipe is complete without it!)
1 1/4 pound sharp cheddar, grated
salt to taste if the cheese doesn't salt it up enough, which it usually does.
Cayenne pepper to taste if you want some heat.

Sweat the onions, celery and carrots in half of the butter. Once translucent, puree them in a blender if you desire a smooth soup. Heat the remaining butter and add the flour, creating a roux and cook for 3-5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and whisk in the milk and stock. Bring to a simmer and stir often for about 10 minutes or until thickened. Bring down to medium heat, add the beer, Worcestershire, and mustard and simmer for 5 minutes.

Whisk in the cheese about 1/2 a cup at a time and let it melt fully before adding more. Do not allow it to boil, or stick on bottom.

This goes great with some Spent Grain Bread to soak up all the last bits in the bowl. Add broccoli to the mix to make it "healthy!"

Bon appetit