Step 1

In a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt. Add the prepped onion, bay leaf, salt and sauté for 4 - 5 minutes, until the onion is transparent.

Step 2

Dust the onions with the flour, stirring with a flat edge spatula, so you can scrape any flour from the bottom of the pan, to make a roux. Cook the roux for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring the whole time, to prevent the flour from burning.

Step 3

Switching to a whisk, slowly pour in the beer, whisking to combine, getting any fond from the bottom of the pan, making sure all the lumps (if any) from the flour are dissolved. Add the cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer and adjust the heat to keep a gentle simmer. Add the peppercorns, cloves and nutmeg. Whisk the mixture occasionally over the next 30 minutes, as the flour flavor cooks out and the sauce thickens slightly.

Step 4

Remove the bay leaf, clove and peppercorns from the sauce. Take the sauce off the heat. Slowly add the grated cheese while whisking to combine.

Step 5

Taste beer cheese sauce and adjust seasoning if needed with more salt or cracked pepper.