Review: White Castle's New Beer Cheese Is A Crowning Achievement

White Castle was one of America's very first fast food chains. Its reach today is not as wide as that of its rivals McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, but its iconic status was renewed by a memorable yet prolonged cinematic visit from Harold and Kumar. While the square sliders continue to deliver smiles, White Castle has innovated its menu beyond burgers and is always trying to amp up the flavors. Recent innovations have included a Chicken Fajita Slider, Jalapeño Cravioli, Cheddar Smoked Sausage Slider, and Pretzel Nibblers, with the latter two leaving a bad taste in our mouths. Well, as summer officially winds down and turns into football season, White Castle is bringing back the Sausage Slider and Pretzel Nibblers, but this time smothering them, along with its dependable french fries, in something called Garage Beer Cheese.

For those not in the know, myself included, Garage Beer bills itself as a "beer-flavored beer made for where real life actually happens: the garage, the driveway, the backyard, and anywhere a chair gets unfolded." Oh, and the majority owners of this beer company are none other than Mr. Taylor Swift, and his brother Jason Kelce. Well, the fellow Ohio-based companies are uniting and delivering a beer cheese made from Wisconsin aged cheddar and real Garage Beer, but leaving out any actual alcohol.

So, does this White Castle x Garage Beer Cheese menu rev up the taste engines and score a touchdown, or should it have never left the garage? The Takeout took out each item on the menu to see where the truth lies. Now all can be revealed in this cheesy, and perhaps sudsy, chew and review.

I moseyed on over to my nearby Manhattan location of White Castle to try the White Castle x Garage Beer collaborative menu. I ordered the three items in-store and consumed the food right then and there. The items were sampled in the following order, based on the perception of which item would get colder and/or mushy fastest: Garage Beer Cheese Fries, followed by the Pretzel Nibblers with Garage Beer Cheese, and, as the final course, the Garage Beer Cheese Sausage Slider.

This chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and thoughts. I also factored in my previous experiences with White Castle, beer cheese, and my overall impressions of this collaboration. The criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, texture, size, value, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, and, ultimately, whether this collaboration, or at least any part of it, is something worth your time and dime.

Before I dove right into this pile of cheese fries, I wanted to get to know the beer cheese itself. I had ordered an additional side cup just for this very purpose and on the off chance that I loved it so much, I'd need more of it. The sauce had an appealing, spicy mayo-like look to it — bright, peachy orange, with seasoned specks, perhaps pepper flakes. I had neglected to ask for a utensil, and with time and temperature always a concern, I just dipped my finger in it. It was both thick and velvety, and when I took a taste, I was a fan of the early returns. It was warm and comforting and tasted like lovely, cheddar-y beer cheese.

When I opened my box of White Castle's Garage Beer Cheese Fries, part of the beer cheese got stuck on each side of the interior "doors," while the remainder formed a large clump centered on the pile of fries. As I tried to pick up one fry covered in cheese to sample, the others were stuck to it and were forced to come along for the ride. I was already a big fan of White Castle's signature crinkle-cut fries and had a good feeling they would work well caked in the beer cheese, especially since fries are fairly plain in taste beyond salt. My feelings served me well, as the fries proved to be a well-suited partner for the beer cheese. The only real problem with these fries was that once I polished off the center clump, the rest of my naked fries were desperately seeking beer cheese.

After a successful run with the fries, it was time to turn my attention to the Pretzel Nibblers. I was aware the Nibblers had been on White Castle menus before, but I had never had the pleasure, or perhaps displeasure, of trying them before. I ordered mine in the combo, so I only had six pieces at my taste testing disposal. These little orbs were very plump, and resembled either a small football or a plump acorn. They had a lovely, shiny, buttery sheen, and were topped with small grains of salt, as well as an unidentifiable seasoning.

I tried a Nibbler on its own, and it had all the pretzel-like qualities one would expect. It was soft, doughy, and thankfully, warm. There is nothing worse than a cold soft pretzel. Nothing. Well, besides chopped liver and tuna fish salad. While salt was present on the actual Nibbler, its taste seemed to warrant a few more sprinkles of it. The beer cheese here is offered up in a dipping cup. The cup was tiny, but it was enough to get me to the finish line with my Nibblers. The cheese stuck to the pretzels quite well, and together they formed an even better partnership than the cheese had with the fries. I'm not sure how, but the Pretzel Nibblers brought out a sweetness that I had not experienced with the fries. I was beginning to suspect that this beer cheese works certain kinds of tasty magic with whatever it comes into contact with.

I'm used to the square meal that the regular White Castle burger provides. Here, the pillowy bun can't even keep up with its innards, as the sausage is protruding out of two sides. The sausage itself looked like half of a grilled hot dog, which is then butterflied open, with its pink insides facing the top bun. The first slider I examined had the smallest smattering of the beer cheese sauce and a cooked onion that looked like it had escaped from a bowl of French onion soup. I leaned in for a whiff, and the slider had a lovely meaty essence to it. Its appearance had exuded a heftiness about it, and when I held it in my hand, like an impromptu scale, its weight matched its look.

Before taking a full bite, the protruding sausage allowed me the honor of taking a bite of it alone. I was actually surprised at how good it was. The divided sausage's taste hewed somewhere between a smoky, snappy hot dog and a mild sausage. I went in for a full bite, with the slippery but flavorful onion and barely a nip of beer cheese, and it made for a surprisingly big bite in a small package.

I assumed no two sliders were alike, and my second Garage Beer Cheese Sausage Slider was blessed with way more sauce draped on top of it. The sausage took the lead with each bite, and the beer cheese remained mainly an accent, as a sort of saucy background dancer.

After a first round of munching on the cheesified appetizers and the mighty fine Sausage Slider, I was ready for a second round of tastings. While my first impressions told me the Pretzel Nibblers were the best pairing for the beer cheese, it turned out that everything was equally great with it in the mix. That's the mark of a quality sauce, as it enhanced everything it touched, each in a different way.

The fries best exemplified the beer cheese's rich texture and cheesy taste. The Pretzel Nibblers brought out a little sweetness the sauce itself seemed to hide. The sausage was a genuine slab of meat winner, and the beer cheese was just a bonus dressing that worked wonders that a condiment like ketchup or mustard probably couldn't muster here. The Sausage Slider was mighty filling, and at just $1.79 apiece, in this day and age, that's a practical bargain. While it was filling as a single slider, that doesn't mean I wasn't open to more of them, and polished off two more before I called it quits. These Sausage Sliders are basically White Castle hot dogs, which is something that hasn't appeared on the menu except when beef rationing was rampant during WWII. Today's menu doesn't need a hot dog on it, but it would be totally awesome if the Sausage Sliders stuck around.

I wish I had room left over for more food, as I wanted to test the beer cheese elsewhere. I imagined it draped over a burger, or using it for a dip for onion rings, but I guess I have until November 1, 2026 to make all my beery cheesy dreams come true.

The Garage Beer menu is currently available at participating nationwide locations of White Castle. It will remain on menus through November 1, 2026 or while supplies last. The items can be ordered in-store or in advance for dine-in or carryout using White Castle's app or website.

Each item can be ordered à la carte, and while prices may vary by location, at my Manhattan White Castle, a single Garage Beer Cheese Sausage Slider retailed for $1.79, the Garage Beer Cheese Fries for $3.49, a six-piece order of the Pretzel Nibblers with Garage Beer Cheese for $3.29, and a 15-piece order for $7.29. There is a combo meal option that includes a pair of the Garage Beer Cheese Sausage Sliders, a six-piece order of the Pretzel Nibblers with Garage Beer Cheese, and a drink for $6.99. While not listed on the in-store menu board or even on the app, a side cup of the Garage Beer Cheese can be ordered by its lonesome. Mine cost an additional $1.19.

A single Garage Beer Cheese Sausage Slider contains 280 calories, 18 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 750 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein. It contains the common allergens milk and wheat.

The Garage Beer Cheese Fries nets an eater 430 calories, 29 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 310 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. A six-piece order of the Pretzel Nibblers with Garage Beer Cheese provides 260 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 450 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. The Garage Beer Cheese Fries and the Pretzel Nibblers with Garage Beer Cheese both contain milk and soy, and may come into contact with egg, wheat, fish, and shellfish through shared kitchen areas or equipment.