Pimiento Cheddar Spread

The beer cheese soup happened.

Let me explain. I've been making beer cheese soup for a couple of years — it's one of those recipes that comes naturally when you work at a brewery. You take a good beer, add sharp cheddar, some aromatics, cream, and you get a soup that tastes like Wisconsin in a bowl. I've been tweaking the recipe every time: different beers, different cheese ratios, different spice levels. This week, I used a lager I helped brew at Lakefront — a clean, malty beer that gives the soup body without overpowering the cheese — and the result was the best batch I've ever made.

I posted it on RecipeSpinoff. Wrote about the process, the beer, the cheese (Wisconsin cheddar, sharp, aged two years, because we take cheese seriously here), the way beer cheese soup is basically the state dish even though it's not officially the state dish. I wrote about how Babcia never made beer cheese soup because it's not Polish, but she would have understood the principle: take good ingredients, don't overthink them, feed people.

Megan tried it. She called her mother. This is the thing about Megan and Colleen — when Megan eats something she really loves, she calls Colleen. Not to share the recipe. Not to discuss the technique. Just to say, "Mom, Jake made this thing and it's amazing." In Irish-Catholic families, this is the equivalent of a Michelin star. Colleen called me an hour later and said, "When are you making this for us?" I am now obligated to make beer cheese soup for the O'Briens. I accept this obligation.

The post went up and it just... took off. More comments than anything I've written. More shares. People tagging their friends. "The pierogi and beer guy made soup." I didn't expect it. I wrote it the way I always write — casual, honest, aimed at guys who want to cook but don't want to be precious about it — and something about this one connected. Maybe it's the beer. Maybe it's the cheese. Maybe it's Wisconsin. Maybe it's all three.

Megan looked at the numbers and said, "You're going viral." I said, "It's soup." She said, "It's always soup." She's right. With me, it's always soup.

All the comments on that soup post kept circling back to the same thing: the cheese. Aged Wisconsin sharp cheddar isn’t just an ingredient — it’s the whole argument. So while I’m already obligated to make beer cheese soup for the O’Briens, I figured I’d share the other thing I reach for when sharp cheddar is doing the heavy lifting: a Pimiento Cheddar Spread that follows the exact same principle Babcia lived by — good ingredients, don’t overthink it, feed people. Put it out with crackers before the soup hits the table and nobody complains.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 10 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (aged Wisconsin cheddar preferred)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 jar (4 oz) diced pimientos, drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt to taste
Crackers, toasted bread, or sliced vegetables for serving

Instructions

Shred your cheese. Shred the cheddar fresh off the block — pre-shredded has coatings that prevent it from binding properly. Sharp, aged cheddar gives you the most flavor payoff.
Combine the base. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the mayonnaise until smooth. You want no lumps before anything else goes in.
Mix in the cheese and pimientos. Fold in the shredded cheddar and drained pimientos. Stir until evenly distributed but don’t overwork it — some texture is a good thing.
Season it. Add garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust salt. The cheese is already salty, so go easy until you know where you are.
Rest and serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors come together. Serve with crackers, toasted baguette rounds, or raw vegetables. It also keeps well covered in the fridge for up to five days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pimiento Cheddar Spread — Because in Wisconsin, Cheese Is Always the Point