Boilermaker (beer cocktail) explained

A boilermaker is either of two types of beer cocktail. In American terminology, the drink consists of a glass of beer mixed with a shot of whiskey.^[1]

Name

The drink originated in Butte, Montana, in the 1890s, and was originally called a Sean O'Farrell and was served only when miners ended their shifts.^{[2] [3] [4]} When the beer is served as a chaser, the drink is often called simply a shot and a beer.^[5]

In England, the term boilermaker traditionally refers to a half pint of draught mild mixed with a half pint of bottled brown ale. In the South west of England it is also known as a 'brown split', although it also refers to the American shot and pint.^[6] In Scotland, a half and a half is a half pint of beer with a whisky ("a wee hawf").^[7] The use of these terms in Scottish and English pubs can be traced back to about 1920.^[8]

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.^{[9] [10]}
• The liquor and beer may be mixed by pouring or dropping the shot into the beer. The mixture may be stirred.^[9] If the shot glass is dropped into the beer glass, the drink can also be known as a depth charge.^[11]

Similar drinks

Other pairings of a shot and a beer are possible; traditional pairings include:

• Herrengedeck ("gentlemen's menu"), a German pairing of Korn (grain brandy) and beer^[12]
• Regenschirm ("umbrella"), a German pairing of Allasch and Gose^[13]
• Irish car bomb (cocktail), a pairing of a shot of Irish cream and whiskey into a glass of stout^[14]
• ("little headbutt"), a Dutch pairing of Jenever (Dutch gin) and beer,^[15] term attested 1943^[16]
• Somaek or Poktan-ju, a Korean pairing of soju and beer^[17]
• The Chicago Handshake or Chicago Drive-by, a shot of Jeppson's Malört alongside Old Style beer^{[18] [19]}
• The Citywide, sometimes called the Citywide Special, a Philadelphia pairing of a shot of Jim Beam and a Pabst Blue Ribbon^[20]
• Ubåt ("submarine") a Swedish speciality, a pairing of a pint of lager beer and shot of Jägermeister. Popularized in the movie "Snowroller" 1985.

See also

• Black and tan
• Queen Mary (beer cocktail)
• Shandy
• Yorsh

Notes and References

1. Book: Walkart, C.G.. National Bartending Center Instruction Manual. 2002. Bartenders America, Inc. Oceanside, California. 123.  ASIN: B000F1U6HG. The BCIM lost track of the traditional American Boilermaker from the 1970s and 80s; this involves a "depth charge," which is a shotglass filled with whiskey that is dropped into a 2/3 filled pint of beer. The 2002 manual suggests to “Serve whiskey in a shot glass with a glass of beer on the side as a chaser.”
2. Book: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Randall. Jessy F.. Oxford University Press USA. 2013. 9780199734962. 58.
3. Web site: Patterson. Troy. 2015-09-07. What Beer To Drink on Labor Day—and on the Job. 2021-05-11. Slate Magazine. en.
4. Web site: 20 April 1967. Butte in midst of beer price war. live. 2021-05-11. Newspapers.com. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211924/http://www.newspapers.com/image/353001336/ . 2021-05-11 .
5. Web site: 2018-01-10. Boilermakers go beyond the basic: where to find the most-interesting varieties in Seattle. 2021-05-11. The Seattle Times. en-US.
6. Web site: Why Do the Dutch Call a Beer and a Shot a 'Little Headbutt'?. 2021-05-11. Thrillist. en.
7. Web site: Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: half. 27 July 2019.
8. Book: Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Edition 8, 2002 . Routledge. 1937. 111. 978-0415291897.
9. Book: Hellmich, Mittie. The Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,000 Cocktails. Chronicle Books. 2006. 93–94. 0-8118-4351-3.
10. Book: Regan, Gary. The Joy of Mixology. 2003. Clarkson Potter . New York. first. 0-609-60884-3. 226.
11. Web site: Rense. Sarah. 2020-04-03. A Boilermaker Is the Overly Efficient Kind of Drink We Need Right Now. 2021-05-17. Esquire. en-US.
12. Book: Matthew Rowley . Lost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger's Manual . The Countryman Press . 2015.
13. Web site: Leipziger Allasch . Sachsen.de . April 13, 2023 .
14. Web site: This St. Patrick's Day Staple Is a Crowd Pleaser. 2021-05-17. Liquor.com. en.
15. http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/03/kopstootje-a-little-head-butt-from-stillwater-and-bols-genever.html Kopstootje: A Little Head Butt from Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Bols Genever
16. De pers in Nederland, H. A. Goedhart N.v. Nederlandsche uitgeverij "Opbouw,", 1943, p. 162
17. News: Measuring beloved Korean drink, from smooth to blackout. en. Reuters. 2021-05-17.
18. Web site: McNear. Claire. 2019-02-06. Malört, Chicago's Celebrated, Foul-Tasting Liquor, Is Returning to Its Ancestral Home. 2021-05-17. The Ringer. en.
19. Web site: Lukach. Louisa Chu, Nick Kindelsperger, Marissa Conrad, Joseph Hernandez, Bill Daley, Josh Noel, Adam. It's Chicago's fake birthday — celebrate with these 30 classic Chicago foods and drinks, from Original Rainbow Cone to a Chicago Handshake. 2021-05-17. chicagotribune.com.
20. Web site: Gruber . Lauren . 2015-08-04 . The Best Citywide Deals In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . 2022-07-29 . Culture Trip.