Cooking With Beer: IPA Queso Dip

With the big game right around the corner, you need a great dip in order to really set your party up for success and there is no greater dip than a queso dip. Gooey, melty, and spicy the perfect queso dip can be the cornerstone for your party and by adding beer… it is all the better. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have been working on perfecting this recipe for the last few years. Tinkering with spices, beers, and peppers to ensure that this recipe is perfect in every way. Now that I have cracked the code for the perfect beer cheese dip I will share it with you.  

When it comes to the beer, an IPA will be your best bet and not just any IPA will do the job. This is a job for the New England IPA (e.g. hazy boi). West Coast IPAs will make the dip too bitter, while East Coast and English IPAs won’t make much of a difference and the juicy hop of the New England style is perfect. When it comes to ABV I would stick to 5% to 7% as any higher will give the dip a weird boozy taste. For me, using ‘Julius’ from Tree House Brewing has been the perfect beer but if you cannot get ‘Julius’ any beer that follows those guidelines is perfect.

Now here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

¼ cup canola oil

2 poblano peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

½ cup IPA beer

2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded monetary jack cheese

1 cup shredded low moisture-full fat mozzarella cheese

1 roma tomato

salt and black pepper to taste

 

Method:

Roughly mince the peppers being sure to de-seed them. I like to keep some of the veins of the jalapeno for the spice but if you do not like a lot of spice just remove it all. Using half of the canola oil (about two tablespoons or so) sauté the peppers until softened using a large sauté pan. Then add in all of the spices and stir for about one minute or so until the spices are fragrant.

Next, add in the rest of the oil and stir until all of the peppers and spices are coated. Then add in the flour to start the roux. Cook out the raw taste of the flour for a few minutes until the flour is light golden brown and then add in the milk in stages roughly ¼ of a cup at a time. This will ensure that there are no lumps in your roux. Once all of the milk has been added stir until thickened and then add in the beer ¼ cup at a time.

Once the beer has been incorporated and thickened as well, add in the cheddar cheese. After the cheddar has melted slightly then add in the monetary jack and mozzarella and fold in until melted. Once the cheese has melted add in your diced and de-seeded tomato and gently fold in.

Finally, you can transfer your dip into the serving tray or serve in your cast iron pan. Optionally, you can put this under the broiler to crisp up the top if you’d like as well.

New Brew Thursday: 'Jjjuiceee Machine' from Tree House Brewery

Happy New Year everyone! Or Hoppy Brew Year if you please. One of my new years resolutions (aside from the usual one of losing weight) was to write more. Not only because I love to blog but because there are dozens of new breweries to visit, new recipes to experiment with, and new beers to try. So, when I saw that Tree House had brewed a new batch of ‘Jjjuiceee Machine’ a beer that I have been dying to try I knew I had to trek up to Canton for some cans and let me tell you two things. 1. Going to Tree House on random weeknights after work for a pour and cans is one of my new favorite things and 2. This beer is insane.

‘Jjjuiceee Machine’ pours into the glass with a deep and hazy orange with a nice white head. It has complex notes of orange, mango, and tropical citrus that battle each other for nostril supremacy and the nano-second one gets the upper hand the other two pounce to take it back. The taste? Sublime. Now, to be fair, ‘Juice Machine’ is one of my favorite offerings from Tree House and I am a little biased but this beer is insanely delicious. The initial pillowy-soft taste of mango perfectly transitions to a big, juicy, hoppy bitterness with a subtle taste of orange and tropical fruit. It then gives way to a long bitterness that lingers on the middle of the tongue.  With a thick and luxurious mouthfeel the coats the entire palate you’ll be able to taste every part of this beer. Clocking in at a dangerous 8.6% ABV you’ll be at the bottom of the glass before you start to feel it. ‘Jjjuiceee Machine’ is nearly the perfect DIPA in every way and quite possibly not only my new favorite from Tree House but one of my top favorites overall!

TL;DR: ‘Jjjuicee Machine’ from Tree House? Yeah, it’s alright.

New Brew Thursday: 'Bigger Peach' from Tree House Brewery

 Aside from walking their picturesque grounds and picking up my cans, one of my favorite things about visiting Tree House is their draft offerings. Not only because of how good Tree House is on draft but because they are constantly adding offerings that add variations to their classics. Whether it is adding guava or pineapple, adding oreo or marshmallow these are the things that make visiting Tree House all the better. Now, with them adding dried fruit to their IPAs and other additives you can take those rare delicacies home and there is no finer example of this than ‘Bigger Peach.’ A variation of ‘Very Hazy’ with you guessed it… Peach.  

‘Bigger Peach’ pours into the glass with a soft orange color and a nice white head. The sweet notes of peach hit you right away and hit you with wave after wave of their sugary sweetness with the slightest of hints of candied orange on the very back end. The taste? Exceptional. While I am a little biased as ‘Very Hazy’ is one of my absolute favorites ‘Bigger Peach’ takes the peach flavor of the Haze line-up and cranks it to 11. The sweetness of the peaches hits you right away but then gives way to a slight bitterness that lingers ever-so slightly on the middle of the tongue. With a thick mouthfeel it coats the entire palate with sweet peach and a soft bitterness. Clocking in at a dangerous 8.6% ABV you’ll be 90% though the glass before it you start to feel it.

‘Bigger Peach’ is a dangerously delicious beer, and you NEED to try it.

New Brew Thursday: 'Mega Treat' from Tree House Brewery

Early last week Tree House had both ‘King Julius’ and ‘King Jjjuliuss’ in cans so I knew that I had to try and get up to Charlton. I have not been able to get to Tree House in a few months so I was eager to get up there but due to work and the weather I was not sure I would be able to. However, when they announced ‘Mega Treat’ I knew I had to get up there as it had been on my must try list since it was first brewed last year. I got a few other cans as well, but I was most excited to try ‘Mega Treat’ and it did not disappoint.

‘Mega Treat’ pours into the glass a hazy dark yellow with a thick white head. It has strong sweet notes of candied tropical fruit with a heavy emphasis on the sweetness that gives way to the softer fruit. The taste is amazing. While ‘Treat’ and ‘Super Treat’ have an initial bitterness ‘Mega Treat’ is an absolute juice bomb from start to finish. It has a thick and luxurious mouthfeel that coats the palate and tongue and is an impossible combination of soft and juicy with a slight lingering front-of-the-mouth bitterness. Coming in at 8.7% ABV it is just boozy enough to stop you from crushing it. ‘Mega Treat’ is a definite must try for all those who love their hazy boys.

New Brew Thursday: 'Curiosity Ninety Seven' From Tree House Brewery

Happy IPA Day everyone! I hope that everyone was able to celebrate with their IPA of choice. I was able to celebrate with ‘Curiosity Ninety Seven’ from Tree House Brewery. Now my love for Tree House has been clear in the past  as the beauty and warmth of their brewery is only surpassed by their incredible beer and ‘Curiosity Ninety Seven’ knocks it out of the park.

Tree House’s curiosity series is a thing of beauty. One of the top breweries in the world, constantly experimenting and innovating by testing out new brewing tips and techniques. It is fantastic. ‘Curiosity Ninety Seven’ pours a rich and hazy orange into the glass and has a similar appearance to orange juice. It has heavy citrus and subtle notes of melon. The flavor is heavy on the citrus while having a nice pillowy softness as well. A juicy IPA with a great mouthfeel and soft, but lingering, bitterness on the back end. While any Tree House beer is a great selection for IPA day, this one was perfect for yours truly. Let me know in the comments what your IPA Day beer of choice was.