A beer and a shot – as refreshment goes it doesn’t get much simpler than that.
But on laid-back summer evenings the to-and-fro between hard liquor and ice-cold beer is often what I crave.
In Germany they call it a herrengedeck. In Scotland they call it a ‘hauf and a hauf’ (half and a half). In Korea, they drop their shot of soju actually into their lager to make a somaek, or the Korean answer to a Depth Charge.
In America, of course, it’s known as a ‘boilermaker’ – a reference to the drink’s blue-collar origins, and the fact it was a favorite fortifier of locomotive engineers, or boilermakers, after a hard day’s work.
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What makes a good pairing? If you’re doing it right each sip should leave you wanting a little bit more of the other. Drinks that compliment each other in weight and flavor often do this best: heavy/light, warming/fresh, sweet/salt.
Bourbon and lager is a classic combination for this reason – the former is sweet and spicy, the latter crisp and dry. Try a mid-weight bourbon such as Michter’s Bourbon or Woodford Reserve with a hoppy brew like Pilsner Urquell. Heaven Hill is so devoted to boilermakers it runs a competition every year, challenging bartenders to come up with evermore creative pairings. The competition’s organiser Chris Smith recommends Evan Williams or Elijah Craig as the perfect partner for a Pils.
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In the market for something… trashier? Then pair your whiskey with a down-and-dirty pickle beer: Donna’s Pickle Beer has gained a cult following in the US. In London, meanwhile, the Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown serves a housemade pickle beer based on the excellent Braybrooke Pilsner, alongside shots of fancy cognac.
Agave spirits and beer are also made for each other. Especially when they’re served, as they often are in Mexico, with a dish of juicy, sal de gusano-dusted orange wedges on the side. Try Quiquiriqui’s pine-y single estate Tobala with a well-chilled Cervesa Victoria (which flows like water in Mexico) or Modelo Especial as a chaser. At Side Hustle in London they pair the hard-to-find Fortaleza Reposado Winter Blend tequila with a taster of Krug Champagne. “The acidity and yeasty notes of the champagne compliment the bolder, oak flavors of the tequila — it it works the other way around,” says NoMad head of bars Maxim Schulte.
New York’s Katana Kitten specialises in boilermakers with a Japanese accent. Suntory’s easy-drinking Toki blended whisky is paired with a lager; while a shot of yuzu sake partners up with an Other Half IPA. At the innovative Oddball bar in Alphabet City, meanwhile, you can sip an Umenoyado Green Tea Umeshu (plum sake) alongside a Farm One lager brewed with lemon basil.
NYC’s award-winning Superbueno bar has created a riff on its signature boilermaker, Dashi Papi, for every match in the soccer World Cup. For the USA vs Australia game, for example, they’ve laced a shot of Don Julio 1942 with Aussie vegemite, while the Mexico vs Czechia game sees the tequila laced with hints of cherry and caraway. But the no-frills ‘beer and a bump’ remains, in the words of head bartender Keith Moffitt, “the ultimate old-school bartender’s choice.”
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The Boilerfaker – which sees a full-strength spirit paired with a non-alc beer – has lately become one of my favorite drinks. You get all the refreshment and flavour of the real thing but keep a reasonably clear head.
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America’s number one non-alc brewer Athletic Brewing recently created a superb 0.5 percent abv red ale, Clock End, for Premier League champions Arsenal (who also happen to be my team). I’ll be sipping this, while I watch the World Cup games, with a sweet-and-smoky dram of Lagavulin 16.
At Trick Dog in San Francisco they do a fully non-alc pairing of Guinness 0.0 and a shot of cold brew – guaranteed to pick you up whether you’re grafting on a locomotive or simply watching the TV.
