About Beer Cheese
Beer Flavored Cheese is a cheese dip most commonly found in Central Kentucky grocery stores made by various individuals and mass producers alike who had to settle for a beer flavored cheese dip since the original beer cheese recipes' heritage was preserved and protected. Similar beer flavored cheese dips can be found in other regions of the United States, but the original or authentic beer cheese itself is not widely distributed. Despite this fact, the Tavern Cheese Spread dip and its' original is nearly ubiquitous in Kentucky.
Tavern Cheese Spread starts with cheddar or sharp cheddar cheese. Beer is added to provide flavor and texture, along with a variety of spices. It is hand mixed in small batches, hand packed and refrigerated. The Tavern Cheese Spread is not mild, it's not hot, it's just right and is traditionally served with crackers, though it can also be found served with vegetables or chips as an appetizer.
Kentucky Beer Cheese appears to have first been served in the 1940's at a restaurant in Clark County, Kentucky known as "Allman's Restaurant." Allman's burned in 1970 and to much disappointment, was never rebuilt. Trying to carry on the tradition, Hall's on the River, down the road from Allman's Restaurant served "Hall's Snappy Beer Cheese" as a compliment on their tables with the traditional radishes, carrots, celery and crackers. Hall's went through many floods, sold their original recipe to a manufacturer in Louisville, Kentucky (which changed that recipe) to take the direction of mass marketing, never to be the same sold in retail stores throughout the Central Kentucky Valley.