How many of you guys do this? I know I'm not the only one. I'm a huge beer geek and I've really gotten way too much into whiskey. I'm at like 30 some odd bottles of whiskey now and so much beer it barely even makes logistical sense, and one of my favorite things to do is blend all different combinations of each! If you haven't mixed beer and whiskey in the same glass before, you're missing out. I guess you can call it a boilermaker...that's usually what I say when I introduce people to this. There are so many varieties of each as far as styles go, let alone brands, that the combinations are virtually infinite. I love splashing some bourbon in my imperial stouts, like Bulleit with Old Rasputin....mmmmmm. I love a good IPA or pale ale with a little Irish whiskey like Tullamore DEW and Jai Alai. Hefes and spicey Belgians go great with a nice Rye, in my opinion. There's really no wrong combos, but some definitely work better than others. So does anyone else have any favorite combos? Post them here. Nobody I know seems to do this but I'm sure there's plenty of you out there! PRO TIP: If you have old stale beer that's been on the shelf too long, or someone leaves something that sucks at your house after a party, toss a little whisky in there and it will make it aaaaaaaall better!
I love beer. I love whisk(e)y. I've never thought the flavors mesh well together, to the extent that I find most whiskey-barrel-aged beer inferior to the base beer. Other than some boilermakers in college, I've never tried mixing them. But if you enjoy it, mix away. I'd call what you're doing beer cocktails with whiskey as the secondary ingredient.
Sure, I suppose it is a beer cocktail of sorts. I've never really looked at it that way. I guess I look at it more similar to using a Randall or something along those lines. To me it's the beer you're drinking, but with a splash of something which just enhances it. I really do recommend giving it a shot islay. Even if you don't prefer a whiskey flavor in your beer as far as barrel aging goes, to me, this is a completely different experience. I would recommend trying it with an imperial stout first. I'm genuinely shocked that nobody else here does this besides me!! At least, no one has posted that they do in this thread, ha ha ha.
Big whiskey fan. I don't like to add whiskey to beer, rather have it on the side. Something simple I enjoy is a Guinness with a side of Jameson. This St. Patrick's Day I plan on Murphy's + The Dead Rabbit (my new favorite Irish Whiskey)
The Dead Rabbit, I've never had that! I'm always looking for new Irish whiskey...I'll have to pick some up.
Sure, what the heck, I'll try to remember to give it a try as a sidecar the next time I open an imperial stout at home.
Awesome! Let me know how it goes. When I'm unsure, I'll just wait until there's only a third of my beer left before blending. Low risk, high potential reward! They tend to taste better when they aren't ice cold as well, in my opinion.
Four Roses Single Barrel and New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red. Drop a shot or two in the bottom and oh baby. It's cherry/rye heaven. Being a Hoosier, several years back Cardinal Spirits distilled Uplands Teddy Bear kisses into Black Bear Bierschnaps. I'm both supremely sad and happy I didn't buy a case at the time because when you mix a shot or two of that with Founders Rubaeus...*chef's kiss*. They never made it again and I've been hunting down something like it ever since.
Oh....in a Belgian red! I've never tried that! Great suggestion. I get why you were sad you didn't buy it...but why were you also happy?
i've made a few bourbon flips with four roses and a splash of lighter stouts/brown ales/porters in them before and it always turns out nice, mostly just adds a bit of depth to a fairly straightforward cocktail. other than that a nearby restaurant turned me on to the idea of dropping a shot of bonded old grand dad into a pint of stag, doesn't feel too great the next day but it's tasty.
I was happy because if I had bought the case would've drank myself into diabetes with that combo was so good.
@Mr3dPHD I actually do this myself, but I have a couple of rules: ·I never add the whisk(e)y on the first pour. I always enjoy the first pour straightforward, and then when there's only 150-250ml left, I'll splash it in. ·Never a full shot. Just enough to get to the equivalent of a super spirit-forward barrel-aged beer. At most a tablespoon or two. ·Never with rare beers, or beers I'll likely never be able to get again. It's an experiment, and I don't experiment with rare or whaley beers.. I generally do this with darker, maltier beers. Some bourbon or rye in an imperial stout, barleywine, old ale, red ale, etc... I frequently add some rye to fresh Bigfoot. New Belgium Oakspire isn't as bourbon-forward as I'd like, so I usually splash some ECBP in. Occasionally, I'll splash some West Cork or Green Spot into a West Coast-style IPA. Occasionally I'll splash a peaty Islay malt into a barleywine or old ale. A tiny bit of Martell, Hennessy, or other decent cognac goes beautifully with a nice oaky wild ale. I don't think this is a common practice, but it's neat to hear of someone else doing the same thing.
