right|thumb|300px|The ingredients of the American version of a boilermaker

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. In England, the term boilermaker traditionally refers to a half pint of draught mild ale mixed with a half pint of bottled brown ale.

Name

The American cocktail originated in Butte, Montana in the 1890s. It was originally called a Sean O'Farrell and was served only when miners ended their shifts.

When the beer is instead served separately as a chaser, that is often called simply a shot and a beer. In Scotland, the serving of a half pint of beer alongside a "wee hauf" glass of whisky () is called a half and a half.

The English boilermaker (a mix of draught mild and bottled brown ale) is also known as a 'brown split' in the south-west of England, although it also refers to the American shot and pint. The boiler-maker name for the ale cocktail dates back to circa 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.

Similar drinks

thumb|right|A Lüttje Lage, a common pairing in the Hannover region, of a glass of beer and glass of [[Korn (liquor)|Korn.]]

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

  • Herrengedeck ("gentlemen's menu"), a German pairing of Korn (rye brandy) and beer
  • Regenschirm ("umbrella"), a German pairing of Allasch and Gose
  • ', a German pairing of top-fermented beer and Korn.
  • 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 (Dutch gin) and beer, term attested 1943
  • Somaek or Poktan-ju, a Korean pairing of soju and beer
  • The Chicago Handshake or Chicago Drive-by, a shot of Jeppson's Malört alongside Old Style beer
  • The Citywide, sometimes called the Citywide Special, a Philadelphia pairing of a shot of Jim Beam and a Pabst Blue Ribbon

See also

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

References