Last Updated on December 18, 2023 by Carne Diem
Method: Stovetop and Smoker
Jump to RecipeSmoked German sausages, a stein of beer, pretzels, and beer cheese. It just isn't Oktoberfest without them. We have tried many variations of beer cheese over the years, from local favorites to the real deal in the beer halls of Munich. In our version we take the smoked queso craze and apply it to our creamy beer cheese sauce. This Smoked German Beer Cheese is on point and makes the perfect addition to your next Oktoberfest party.
Table of contents
Making the Smoked German Beer Cheese
To make the Smoked German Beer Cheese dip you will need a few different cheeses along with a handful of common ingredients. In our Smoked Beer Cheese Sauce we like to use a mixture of cheddar or gouda, Munster, and Bavarian Emmentaler or Swiss cheese. You will also need:
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 Cup Milk
- ⅔ Cup Wheat Beer
- 2 tea Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ teaspoons German Mustard
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- ¼ teaspoons Paprika
Similar to our Asiago Cream Nachos with Blackened Chicken and Chorizo you are going to need to make a simple roux and then will essentially be making a modified Mornay sauce.
Prep your ingredients
You will want to have your ingredients prepped and measured before you start to make the sauce. Shred the cheeses and place in a bowl. Measure out the remaining ingredients and have them ready for when you start the sauce.
Make a roux
To make the roux melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and whisk continuously for about 2 minutes. This should result in a pale roux. If you find the roux is cooking too quickly you can reduce the heat a little bit. Don't let it burn.
Make a béchamel and then the modified Mornay Sauce
Next, slowly stir in the milk, a little at a time, letting the mixture thicken before adding in more milk. Once all of the milk is added the sauce should still be pretty thick at this point. Next stir in the beer and whisk well to combine. We typically like a nice Wheat beer for this recipe, but most German beers will work well, so fell free to use your favorite. Once smooth, stir in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, and salt.
Finally, add in the shredded cheeses. Stir until smooth and the cheese is all melted.
At this point the beer cheese is ready to eat if you do not wish to smoke it. We love the hint of smoke in this beer cheese dip so we almost always choose to smoke it.
Often we will make the Smoked German Beer Cheese to this point and then place it in a foil pie pan for smoking. We then refrigerate the beer cheese for up to 2 days until we are ready to smoke it, or you can smoke it immediately.
Smoking the German Beer Cheese
Prepare your grill or smoker for indirect heat and preheat to 225 degrees. Smoke the beer cheese for about 1 hour or longer if you want a more pronounced smoke flavor.
Depending on the type of cheese you used, some oils may separate from the cheese, especially if you used cheddar. We like to give the Smoked German Beer Cheese a stir about every 20 minutes to reconstitute the dip. Stir well before serving.
That is all there is too it. Your Smoked German Beer Cheese Dip is all done. Serve on top of vegetables, burgers, as a dip for Smoked Bavarian Beer Pretzels, or use on top of some fries with some sauerkraut for some Oktoberfest inspired fries of poutine. Use the dip as a part of an Oktoberfest inspired meal along with some Bierocks, Authentic Wiener Schnitzel: Viennese Veal Cutlet, German Kasespätzle with Bacon, Authentic Sauerbraten, or Authentic Schwenkbraten: German Swinging Pork.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using a variety of cheese in your beer cheese sauce to balance out the flavors. Emmentalel, Swiss Cheese, Cheddar, Gouda, and Munster all work well in a German beer cheese sauce.
We prefer a wheat beer or German Marzen for using in beef cheese sauce, due to their mild flavor. For a bit more bite or robust flavor you can use a Dunkel, Schwarzbier, or even a smoked German beer (Rauchbier) in the cheese sauce.
Due to the oils in some cheeses, like cheddar, some separation may occur while cooking of smoking the beer cheese sauce. If this occurs, simply stir the sauce to reconstitute it.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. If you tried and enjoyed our recipe please share with others and please leave us a comment and review. We also love to see your pics so don’t forget to tag us @Carne_Diem_Culinary or #CarneDiemBlog. To be notified of future recipes please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or sign up for our e-mail notifications. Until next time, Carne Diem!
📖 Recipe
Smoked German Beer Cheese Dip
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 Cup Milk
- ⅔ Cup Wheat Beer room temp
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ teaspoons German Mustard
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- ¼ teaaspoons Paprika
- 4 Ounces Cheddar or Gouda Shredded
- 2 Ounces Emmentaler or Swiss Cheese Shredded
- 2 Ounces Munster Shredded
Instructions
- To make the roux melt the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan. Stir in the flour, and whisk continuously for about 2 minutes. This should result in a pale roux. If you find the roux is cooking too quickly you can reduce the heat a little bit. Don't let it burn.
- Next, slowly stir in the milk, a little at a time, letting the mixture thicken before adding in more milk. Once all of the milk is added slowly stir in the room temperature beer. Stir to combine.
- Next add in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and salt and stir until well incorporated.
- Stir in the cheeses and stir until the sauce is smooth and all of the cheese is melted. You may refrigerate for up to 2 days at this point, eat as is, or proceed to smoking the beer cheese.
- Smoke the beer cheese for 1 hour at 225 degrees, stirring about every 20 minutes if the oil is separating from the cheeses.
- Serve warm and enjoy. Prost!
Laura
Made this for our Oktoberfest party and everyone loved it. Will be making a double batch next year.