Drink trends change rather quickly. Just think about what was in your hand a decade ago (a smoked cocktail? Caiprinha? A Spanish Gin and Tonic?). Sometimes, it’s more about evolution than one thing subbing in for another.
Take the boilermaker, the classic combo of beer and spirit. For ages, this was the post-shift drink of choice, a quick and easy means of embracing happy hour and chasing a favorite spot of whiskey with some beer. It’s a blue collar drink, at least in its origins, a favorite among industrial laborers in the 1800s.
Today, the drinks looks a little different. While the premise is the same (beer and spirit), the contents are not. Sure, you can still get a stiff shot of bottom-shelf whiskey and shadow it with a pour of your favorite lager. These days, though, there’s a smattering of low-and-no alcohol options in the mix, allowing folks to engage in zebra stripe drinking and be a bit more functional.
So, as we relook at a classic bar option, take into consideration the following lower-proof options. They’re certifiably tasty and can likely be ordered at your favorite watering hole (or something similar). If nothing else, you can certainly fix ’em up at home.
Lucano and red ale
Lucano makes one of the best non-alcoholic amari out there. It’s not always an easy code to crack, as the drink tends to benefit from the homogenizing affect alcohol has on all of those botanicals. But this one is a winner and is a real cracker chased with a nice red ale. We suggest Conway’s Irish Ale from Great Lakes Brewing or the Red Sea Ale from North Coast.
Wilderton Citrus and session IPA
Another great bittersweet NA option, Wilderton citrus offers a nice balance of sweet fruit notes and some of that bitter, rind-like quality. It drinks like eating a whole fresh Valencia orange and we mean that in a good way. It’s all the better paired up with an equally sprightly beer, like a good session IPA. One this writer has been enjoying as of late is the Dale’s Easy
Ghia and pilsner
Ghia makes a great botanical drink that reminds of a bit of an aperitif like Averna. It’s nice and complex in its own right and seems to become even more so buoyed by a good pilsner. What kind of beer? Check our our favorite pilsner beers for some inspiration. As one of the oldest and most popular beer styles on the planet, there are some remarkable options out there.
Coffee liqueur and NA stout
This one takes advantage of shared tasting notes. Both liquids offer nice baking chocolate, espresso, and malt notes, making them quite like-minded. There are an increasing number of good NA stouts out there now but the newest nitro option from Athletic Brewing is especially pleasant. Pair it up with a good coffee liqueur like Estate 98 out of Florida.
Ola Sol and NA Mexican lager
This one will have you thinking summer. It’s a beachy combination of a hybrid agave spirit and an easy-drinking lager. Ola Sol is essentially the wine version of tequila, fermented as opposed to distilled, keeping the alcohol at a reasonably level while still offering those intriguing vegetal agave notes. As for beer, you can go convenience store with something like NA Corona or a bit more crafty with Best Day’s Electro Lime. Go full craft and try a Kernza Lager from Deschutes Brewing.
Where are the classic whiskey and beer options? To be honest, NA whiskey is still a ways off replicating its traditional sibling. But that’s not to say you can’t pull it off. We suggest a pour of your favorite bourbon (avoid the bigger, barrel-strength stuff) with a nice NA beer. Light and refreshing works for the beer (pale ale) but all of those brown sugar and oak notes can play quite nicely with a good brown ale or porter as well.
The above options are a bit less indulgent, which might not be the worst thing for a drink that essentially requires double-fisting. The boiler workers and locomotive laborers of old may have dunked their shots in their beers and thrown back the whole thing but this is 2026. We can slow down and enjoy them side by side, no headache attached.
There’s a time and a place for a conventional biolermaker, don’t get us wrong. The drink has been around for generations because it’s a complementary tandem and just plain fun to drink. Yet, with more lower-octane and NA options across the drinks spectrum these days, you can savor the drink more often without as much guilt.
The modern version may just take over as one of the preferred options for bartenders when they’re off the clock. Doing shots can be fun, and even more so when you don’t get wiped out in the process. Let’s see where the modern boilermaker takes us.
