Warm Beer Soup

Warm beer soup is one of those old European recipes that sounds bizarre until you taste it. Beer heated with whole cloves, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon zest turns into something closer to a warm, spiced cider than anything you’d expect from a pint glass. Thickened with milk, flour, and an egg yolk, it becomes a creamy, warming bowl that was once a common cold-weather staple across Germany and Central Europe.

The spiced beer base is essentially a mulled beer. Boiling the beer with the aromatics drives off most of the alcohol and concentrates the malt sweetness, while the cloves and cinnamon add the same warm spice notes you’d find in a holiday drink.

The egg yolk needs to be tempered before adding. Dump it straight into the hot liquid and you’ll get scrambled egg floating in your soup. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the yolk first to bring it up to temperature gradually, then stir the tempered yolk back into the pot.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a malty, amber-style beer rather than a hoppy IPA. Hops turn bitter when heated and will overpower the delicate spicing. A German-style lager or wheat beer is ideal.
• Remove the whole cloves before serving. Biting down on a clove is an intense, unpleasant surprise.
• Serve in small portions. This is rich and warming. A cup-sized serving is plenty as a starter or afternoon pick-me-up.

Variations

• Add a splash of cream instead of egg yolk for a simpler thickening that doesn’t require tempering.
• Float a cinnamon stick on top when serving for a rustic presentation.