What Is The Worst Brew To Use For Beer Cheese?

Beer cheese is a bar food staple. And, while the bar food genre is made up of many well-loved favorites, bar food doesn't always need to be good. That's not the point. The point is to provide a fast, fatty fix at the end of a night of drinking. But that doesn't mean you can't elevate bar food, especially if you're making it at home. According to Food Network star Jeff Mauro, beer cheese should be light on the beer flavor, heavy on the cheese. "Light, tame beer. Sharp, sharp cheddar. You want the cheddar to stand through," Mauro told The Takeout at the New York City Food and Wine Festival. 

Putting a little extra thought into your beer cheese can take the snack spread at Super Bowl parties and casual hang-outs to the next level — and it can be as simple as swapping one beer for another. Remember: You're making beer cheese, not cheesy beer. Darker, stronger flavors will overwhelm the cheese. "[Some] people use stouts or [dark] lagers," Mauro explained, but described these darker beers as "Too much." 

Think of the beer as a seasoning for the cheese dip, not the main event. Malty flavors complement cheese, especially if you're using a cheese like gouda, which has strong nutty notes. Opt for light, malty beers like pale ales. Bright, crisp flavors, like pilsners, complement sharp cheddars. Look for beers that you'd serve with savory foods: If a beer has strong caramel notes, it's probably not the best choice for beer cheese. Save the sweeter flavors for beer and pretzel caramel bars or breakfast stout muffins.

That said, don't worry too much about complex notes. Remember, the beer is secondary to the cheese, so you're going to lose any delicate nuance. If you're serving a light beer, you can use the same beer for your cheese. But you don't need to waste pricy imported stuff or funky craft beers on beer cheese. As long as the flavors you do want — the bright, crisp, or malty notes — are strong enough to shine through, you're good to go.

Dig in, and eat as much as you'd like. Beer cheese doesn't have enough alcohol to get you drunk, so you won't have to worry about a hangover. If you do end up with a hangover the next morning, it's from other indulgences.