Recipe
Pimento Beer Cheese

Updated on March 23, 2016

Recipe: Pimento Beer Cheese

If there's a dip bowl at a party, Erica is guaranteed to be within an arms-reach radius of it all night (while reminding herself what an appropriate shared dip-to-chip ratio is). When she recently discovered the Southern favorite, pimento cheese - she immediately felt the need to make up for all her years without it by creating a beer-fueled version of her own. The structure of pimento cheese is pretty simple: shredded cheese (usually a combination of cheddar), mayo, and a jar of chopped sweet pimento peppers - but from there it seems everyone has a twist on spices and additions to make it their own. Our version employs the fresh pepper taste (and light heat) of our Jalapeño Saison (but any light, flavorful beer will work) melted into a cheese sauce then mixed into the traditional base for a pleasant beery kick. And if you can manage to resist eating the entire bowl in pure dip form - it also makes for an amazing grilled cheese.

What You Need

  • 12 ounces + 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 8 ounce jar pimento peppers, drained and chopped
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Jalapeño Saison (or another light, flavorful beer)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

  1. Combine 12 ounces of shredded cheese, pimentos and mayonnaise in a large bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a saucepan heat beer over medium-low until it reduces by half.
  3. Toss remaining 4 ounces of cheddar with flour to coat. In a double boiler combine cheddar-flour mixture with reduced beer and melt stirring until smooth. Let cool slightly.
  4. Add cheese sauce to cheddar, pimento and mayo mixture. Stir to incorporate. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Let sit refrigerated 20 minutes for flavors to meld. Enjoy.






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