This recipe is a favorite – both with us and readers! We shared it in our first year of blogging – 5 years ago! So crazy that we’ve been blogging for that long. Over the years, our love for the beer cheese never wavered, however our love of the photos in that post sure did – ha! And our cravings happened to collide with a chance to shoot some photos the last time we made this, so we thought it’d be fun to update the pictures from that post…just in time for you to whip some up for St. Patrick’s Day! 😉 This was our take on an appetizer from Applebee’s – the Brew Pub Pretzels with Beer Cheese. We love it with homemade soft pretzels, but it’d also be great with veggies, potatoes or bread!

Beer Cheese

Inspired by Applebee's Brew Pub Pretzels with Beer Cheese, this creamy beer cheese is perfect for dipping soft pretzels, veggies or bread!

Course: Appetizer

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup beer, Blue Moon
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded*
1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
Add flour and whisk to combine, cooking about one minute until smooth.
Gradually add in beer and milk, whisking constantly.
Add garlic, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Switch to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. The sauce should begin to coat the back of the spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
Add cayenne pepper and salt & pepper to taste.
Serve immediately, while warm.

Recipe Notes

You can find the recipe for the soft pretzels here.

Please note that this recipe is inspired by Applebee's beer cheese and is not a copycat recipe - just something similar we love!

*Be sure to shred your own cheese and not buy the pre-shredded kind! The cheese sauce won't have the same consistency if you don't shred your own.

Enjoy!

Beer Cheese Dip