A boilermaker can refer to two types of
beer cocktail. In American terminology, the drink consists of a glass of
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
mixed with a shot of
whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
.
Name
The drink originated in
Butte, Montana
Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...
, in the 1890s, and was originally called a "Sean O'Farrell" and was served only when
miners ended their shifts. When the beer is served as a chaser, the drink is often called simply a shot and a beer.
In Britain, the term "boilermaker" traditionally refers to a half pint of
draught mild mixed with a half pint of
bottled brown ale, although it also refers to the American shot and pint. In Scotland, "a half and a half" is a half pint of beer with a whisky ("a wee hawf"). The use of these terms in Scottish and English
pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
can be traced back to about 1920.
Drinking
There are a number of ways to drink an American beer chaser:
* Traditionally, the liquor is consumed in a single gulp and is then "chased" by the beer, which is sipped.
* The liquor and beer may be mixed by pouring or dropping the shot into the beer. The mixture may be stirred.
If the shot glass is dropped into the beer glass, the drink can also be known as a
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
.
Similar drinks
Other pairings of a shot and a beer are possible; traditional pairings include:
* Herrengedeck ("gentlemen's menu"), a German pairing of
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 ...
(grain brandy) and beer
*
Irish car bomb (cocktail), a pairing of a shot of Irish cream and whiskey into a glass of stout
* ("little headbutt"), a Dutch pairing of
Jenever
Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...
(Dutch gin) and beer, term attested 1943
*
Somaek or
Poktan-ju
''Poktanju'' () translated literally as "bomb liquor" or "bomb shot", is a cocktail that is made by mixing soju or whiskey and beer. A ''poktanju'' consists of a shot glass of soju
(; Hangul: ; Hanja: ) is a clear and colorless Korean ...
, a Korean pairing of
soju and beer
*
U-boot
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
, a pairing of
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
and beer
* The Chicago Handshake or Chicago Drive-by, a shot of
Jeppson's Malört
Jeppson's Malört is a brand of bäsk liquor, extremely low in thujone, introduced in the 1930s, and long produced by Chicago's Carl Jeppson Company. In 2018, as its last employee was retiring, the brand was sold to CH Distillery of Chicago's P ...
alongside
Old Style beer
The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, was a brewery firm that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's, and its independent existence ceased. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brew ...
* The Citywide, sometimes called the Citywide Special, a Philadelphia pairing of a shot of
Jim Beam and a
Pabst Blue Ribbon
*The Sake Bomb or A-Bomb or Fat Man or Nagasaki or Hiroshima is the pairing of or depth charge of a pint of Japanese label beer and sake. Typically drunk in a single motion like a depth charge but it can be mixed, and swallowed in a go.
See also
*
Black and tan
A black and tan is a beer cocktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half because in Ireland the term "''black and tan''" is considered to be offensive.
...
*
Queen Mary (beer cocktail)
A Queen Mary beer cocktail is a mixture of grenadine and beer, which is commonly garnished with maraschino cherries. This mixed drink is typically served in beer glassware, leaving room for a generous amount of beer head which can take on a pink ...
*
Shandy
Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade ...
*
Yorsh
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boilermaker (Beer Cocktail)
Shooters (drinks)
Cocktails with beer
Cocktails
Two-ingredient cocktails
Cocktails with whisky