Tillamook Beer Cheese Soup

I am a bit confused by the previous two reviews that were on the negative side. I have made this soup 5+ times now and make it following the recipe exactly with one exception... I am in the UK and cannot get Tillamook so I just use the extra mature yellow cheddar. I have served this and given it to many people and everyone is absolutely blown away by it. I have had beer cheese soups numerous times over the past 30+ years and I would have to rate this one the hands down winner. The texture that one reviewer commented about sounds like they actually boiled it which I did once and had to throw the whole mess out. *NOT ALLOWING THIS TO BOIL* is critical. Other than that and the choice of good malty dark beer I cannot imagine how anyone could 1) mess this up 2) not find this incredible!! Even my wife, who cannot stand the smell of beer much less the taste, absolutely loves this soup and requests that I make it often in the winter months. I actually came back to review it because I have 4 requests from co-workers to make this again and bring it in to work on Monday!!! Please don't be put off by the negative reviews -- this soup is incredible. I still cannot get over how these ingredients produce that flavor...it's simply magical!! Just a note: In the UK the best cheese I've found is McClellands seriously strong red chedder and the best beer to use, for me, is Leffe Brune. I tried Guiness Draught one time and although I'd still give it 5 stars..it was not the same flavor and I prefer the Leffe.

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AMAZING! Loved it.

For everyone with the negative reviews about grainy-ness, lets have a lesson in cooking with milk.

The reason you're getting grainy gross soup is because of your milk!!! You are cooking it at too high of a temperature. Since this is milk based you should be using whole milk because of the fat content. Milk will curdle if it's heated above 180 degrees F so using a higher fat content milk helps it not curdle because fat helps the milk not separate. Don't even think about using skim milk for this recipe. This is something that needs to be cooked slowly and at a low heat. Only heat to almost boiling if you're using whole milk or cream.

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I have not yet made this, but after reading the comments, I want to add a suggestion. I have found that if you purchase the pre-shredded cheese for soups and sauces, you get a grainy texture. I suggest shredding your own cheese. I plan to make this later this week.

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okay... scaled down to 1 serving... used my favorite beer and my favorite colby jack blend. Don't have red pepper flakes so used creole seasoning and used powdered garlic. YUMMY! Will make this again for a quick fix!

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Very very wonderful, FOLLOW THE RECIPE. Cook it slow and warm, DO NOT BOIL and everything will be perfect!

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I was so excited about this soup and really wanted it to be amazing... but in the end it was a lot of hype and not much amazingness. Like other reviewers, mine turned out a bit grainy. And I didn't care for the flavor of the dark beer. I would switch to a light beer if I ever make it again. But considering how grainy it was I think I'll probably look for a different recipe instead. I do love beer cheese soup!

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I made this as written - right down to the Tillamook brand extra sharp cheddar! I never tasted Tillamook cheddar before and finally found a local store here in Pa. that carries it. I'm in love!!! I loved the smooth texture and the taste was fabulous. I even used fat free milk. I garnished the soup with chopped scallions. I thank you for posting this!

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I wanted to like this so badly, but it turned out bland. I followed the recipe exactly so I don't know what went wrong. I won't make it again.

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Delish! I loved the flavors. I did add caramelized onions as a garnish

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love it!!!! will probably add some finely chopped caramelized onion next time. you do have to be very careful not to overheat it.

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This recipe turned out to be wonderful. It was not grainy when cooked to the correct temperature and my family loved it! It is going into my cookbook for future use. Thank you!

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I'm sorry, we didn't care for this soup.... as many other reviews mentioned, it was very grainy. Me being the texture freak that I am, didn't care for that...

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This was just delicious and couldn't have been simpler. Thank you so much for the recipe! I didn't have Tillamook cheese on hand (I will try to search some out) but I did have Cabot extra sharp so I used that and it turned out wonderfully. To make this even easier- skip using two pans; it really isn't necessary. Just make sure to add the milk into the roux a steady stream and whisk. I always mix my milk into roux cold when doing bechamel and recipes like this, and it turns out just fine. If you choose to do this, just make sure to add the garlic to the roux while it's cooking so that it takes the edge off.

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Good stuff! This isn't the kind of soup that I could eat all of the time, but it was great for a change of pace. It had quite a kick with the pepper flakes. We enjoyed it served in a bread bowl.

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Yummy! I just tried this and it turned out really well. I did not have Tillamook beer cheese soup so I used extra sharp cheddar. I did do 3 tablespoons on garlic....I sauted the garlic with the butter & flour (2 tablespoons) and then added one addl tablespoon while I heated the milk. I also added worshestchire (sp?) and skipped the flakes. I do not like anything but cheese in my soup (no veggies) This was a great soup!

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We had great hopes for this soup, but to our way of thinking, it was only just so-so. We followed the recipe exactly, used Guinness beer, and Tillamook cheese. But it didn't have much taste. Our main problem was the garlic, which didn't get very cooked at all. I would certainly agree with one reviewer who sauteed it with the flour and butter. That should be part of the instructions, we think. I don't have any other ideas about how we would change this recipe, but I don't think we would make it again. The little bit of heat from the crushed pepper flakes was the only thing that made it interesting to us.

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Excellent! I have tried beer cheese soups several times in restaurants only to be disappointed ...NEVER AGAIN! This recipe is everything I have ever expected from a beer cheese soup! The quality of the cheese really makes a difference so don't skimp on cheap cheese. I tossed chunks of stale sourdough bread into it and it was YUMMY. I like this type of soup nice and thick so I recommend using all of the Roux. I also sauteed the garlic in olive oil before adding it. Thanks Kristin!

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I followed the directions to the letter except I did not use Tillamook cheese - can't get it in my area. Therefore, I've decided not to give a rating. I found the soup to be grainy and I made sure not to let it boil, as other reviewers had mentioned. I also found the taste to be very bland. I wish I could give it a good review but we really disliked this soup and couldn't eat it. We ended up throwing it out.

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I wish that I could say we loved this soup but it just didn't suit our tastes. The texture was grainy and the beer flavor was too strong.It was lacking in flavor except for the strong beer taste. I followed this recipe exactly. I have made better beer cheese soups using other recipes. I am surprised that we did not care for it based on the ratings. I wanted to comment but I did not rate it. We love Tillamook Cheese since we live in the Pacific Northwest and it is very popular here.

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I didn't care for it. The taste and the texture were wrong for me. It smelled awesome, but I just didn't care for the taste. Sorry!

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