Everything you need to know about the boilermaker

There’s no hard and fast rules when it comes to boilermakers – endless combinations to try and a few key different ways to do it. But what’s the point of a boilermaker? It’s to explore beer and whisky flavours in new and exciting ways, and experience both like never before.

So, pour yourself a whisky, crack open a tinnie, and get the 101 on this classic.

The story goes: the boilermaker originated in America in the 1890s in Butte, Montana. Miners knocking off after a day of hard graft would retreat to their local watering hole for an afternoon pick-me-up. So the term ‘boilermaker’ most likely refers to the tradies and boilermakers who favoured the combo. 

Another account says the boilermaker came from Cornwall, England. A chap by the name of Richard Trevitchikn was said to have burnt down a steam-powered vehicle after drinking a whisky and beer combo.

Whichever story is true, boilermakers have been around for a long time.

One of the best things about boilermakers is the freedom you have to mix and match and do it your own way. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure story for beer and whisky lovers.

Here are the three key ways to drink a boilermaker:

 1. The boilermaker express: you can drop a shot of whisky into a beer and drink them together at the same time — some people say this is the traditional way to drink a boilermaker

2. Have the whisky first, then chase it down with a frothy

3. Enjoy them both side-by-side at the same time

We’ll let you argue about which one is the ‘right’ way.

We’ll even let you argue about whether it’s a cocktail (an alcoholic drink consisting of spirit mixed with other ingredients) since only the first method mixes the whisky and beer – at least, before imbibing.

However, there’s no argument that a boilermaker accentuates different flavours in both the beer and the whisky.

Phew. Finally we get to the tasting part! Boilermaker combinations are infinite. There’s rough pairing guidelines to matching a beer and a whisky for a boilermaker, but the number one rule? You do you.

When you’re choosing your boilermaker combo, you’ll want to either:

• Contrast whisky and beer to highlight their differences. For this approach you’ll need to select a few dominant characters in the liquid and play them off each other
• Match whisky and beer to dial up the similarities. Find the common notes in each liquid to amplify their similarities

Hint: if you head over to out whisky school page you can get acquainted with different flavours.

Peated whisky and Dark ale
The smoky whisky balances well with the roasted malt of the dark ale

Sherried whisky and Stout
The dried fruits meld  with the chocolate characteristics of the stout wonderfully

Irish Pot Still whiskey and Irish Red Ale
The extra spice from the pot still whiskey marries up beautifully with the rich malt from the red ale

Bourbon whiskey and West Coast IPA
The Bourbon is rich and sweet with a heavy cask influence of caramel, pairing well with the equally big West Coast IPA. The fruit from the hops gives a great contrast

Japanese whisky and Lager
Japanese whisky is usually on the lighter side to pair well with food and not overpower. Pairing with a lager helps lift up the subtle complexities in the Japanese whisky

We’re all things beer and whisky this month because we’ve dropped the world’s biggest boilermaker. This is the story of how this delicious union came to be…

One Friday arvo, we tasked ourselves to nail the perfect beer and whisky pairing. Surrounded by top-notch spirits and the country’s best craft beer, it was hard to pick just two. And then it struck ‘what if two of these incredible booze-makers met in real life?’

The perfect combo requires the perfect team. Mission accomplished. We recruited Stomping Ground’s Head Brewer Ashur Hall and Westward’s Master Blender Miles Munroe.

Armed with his ultimate Lamington Porter recipe, Ashur flew overseas to meet Miles and the pair brewed the chewy Aussie-style porter together. Then they decanted the beer, and poured in Westward’s single malt to give it a lengthy maturation in the casks, soaking up all that Lamington Porter goodness.

And then, boom! This absolute feast of chocolate fudge and burnt sticky toffee with coconut cream, vanilla sponge and a hint of raspberry leaf was ready to bottle up for our Members.

We want Members to really taste the whole story of this incredible whisky, so September’s Whisky of the Month comes with a free can of the Lamington Porter!

If you’re keen to get your hands all over this craft collision, join the Club free now!

And make sure you tune into our Live Stream tasting with Westward and Stomping Ground in what’s sure to be the world’s biggest boilermaker.