Beer Cheese Dip

Use a mild lager or pale ale - IPAs can be too bitter. Shred cheese yourself; pre-shredded has anti-caking agents that prevent smooth melting. Low heat is essential - high heat makes cheese grainy. If dip gets too thick, thin with a bit more beer. Keep warm in a small slow cooker during the game.

Beer cheese is a Kentucky original, and its birthplace is Clark County in the Bluegrass State. Multiple sources including Wikipedia and the Winchester tourism authority agree on the essential story: the spread was created by chef Joe Allman for his cousin Johnny Allman's restaurant on the Kentucky River near Boonesborough, with the most commonly cited date being the 1930s and 1940s. Johnny Allman served it as a complimentary bar snack with the deliberate intention of making customers thirsty for more beer — the sharp, salty, peppery cheese accomplished exactly that. The restaurant later relocated to Winchester, the county seat of Clark County, and was eventually renamed Hall's on the River after changing hands in 1965. Winchester was officially recognized as the birthplace of beer cheese in 2013 and hosts the world's only Beer Cheese Festival each June, along with an eight-stop Beer Cheese Trail. The basic formula — sharp cheddar blended with enough beer to create a smooth, spreadable consistency, seasoned with dry mustard, garlic, and cayenne — reflects Kentucky's practical kitchen sensibility and its German-American heritage of beer and cheese culture brought by 19th-century immigrants. The hot dip format — warming the spread for serving — is a modern adaptation of the original cold spread, developed in American sports bar culture during the 1990s and 2000s.