Favorite/Worst Cheap Beer?

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Iowa Brewer

Iowa Brewer

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Mashed published an article on the worst & best cheap beers, according to "637 beer drinkers."

That's all good, but I want to know the best & words cheap beers according to the greatest beer experts on the inter-webs: the good folks here on HomeBrewTalk.com.

What say you?
1. A cheap beer you love, either for nostalgia or its qualities? (no judgement, here)
2. A cheap beer you wouldn't serve as a prank?

Thanks!
 
I'll bite.

Favorite cheap beer is probably Coors original or banquet beer (in the tan can). You can get it in train stations and food halls for like 2.50 in a big can. If you are wasting time, buy one for sure. Better than most alternatives you can find at that price. I don't like the prices of beer these days. No 7 dollar pours or $11.99 six packs for me. Some drugs are cheaper than that.

Honorable mention for Yuengling, which by all rights should be the best cheapie. Still aged in caves and all that. But in recent years I don't like it as much. If you wanna bring a cheap beer to a party without looking like a dingus, grab Yuengling "for the history."

Worst cheap beer that I've bought frequently (not Steel Reserve or Camo, which I hope I never buy again) is Natty Strawberry Lemonade. Why do I buy it?? You get 6x16oz tall cans for $2.30 at the grocery store, not on sale or anything. Somehow that is the regular price. Cheaper than Natty Lite! So every few months I'll see it and say **** it, it's 2 bucks. But it's so sweet and gross I don't think any man can drink em all and survive. Someone should make a tiktok challenge out of it.
 
Iowa Brewer said:
What say you?
1. A cheap beer you love, either for nostalgia or its qualities? (no judgement, here)
2. A cheap beer you wouldn't serve as a prank?
Click to expand...


Miller High Life is what i buy, on the rare occasion i buy beer.....(used to be milwaukee's, but now they cost the same. and i prefer High Life)

and as far as worst, back when a twelver of milwaukee's was 4.99, there apeared this twelver for 3.99...i bought one, i'd rather drink sea water.

pretty sure it was called "Cedar Creek"
 
Upstate12866 said:
Favorite cheap beer is probably Coors original or banquet beer
Click to expand...

I don't generally drink or brew pale lager styles. A few years ago I made a couple pale lagers to to give it a try. I picked up a pack of Coors to compare against my American Lager and I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle complexities in the Coors. It was better than my version and it was better than many craft lagers that I have tried.

There is a lot of really bad beer out there, but there is some odd flavor in Miller Lite that I just do not like. I have not really been able to identify what the source of that flavor is. I guess it is from the hops they use?
 
A buddy of mine always had this thing that he would do for parties - he would bring the cheapest 6 pack he could find to the party. Being a recent college graduate, he was still always on the hunt for cheap beer. For my housewarming party, he found a 6 pack of this...

1629237091921.png


I kid you not, for all of us being young and not really caring at the time, and quite a few of them were college grads, couldn't even GIVE this sh*t away for free. We cracked a bottle open and a ton of people tried it. I ended up spitting it out. By far the worst beer I've ever had and go figure, it didn't leave my house so I was stuck with it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, my dad came over and asked if I had any beer. I said I have this and gave him one. Told him how I hated it and couldn't give it away because it was gross and that he didn't have to drink it. He opens it, takes a sip and loves it! Said it tasted how beer tasted when he first started drinking beer (he was born in 1931 mind you). He ended up taking the other 4 bottles with him!

I don't really have any cheap beer that I love. PBR actually isn't bad, but won't say I love it.
 
Rob2010SS said:
A buddy of mine always had this thing that he would do for parties - he would bring the cheapest 6 pack he could find to the party. Being a recent college graduate, he was still always on the hunt for cheap beer. For my housewarming party, he found a 6 pack of this...

View attachment 739399

I kid you not, for all of us being young and not really caring at the time, and quite a few of them were college grads, couldn't even GIVE this sh*t away for free. We cracked a bottle open and a ton of people tried it. I ended up spitting it out. By far the worst beer I've ever had and go figure, it didn't leave my house so I was stuck with it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, my dad came over and asked if I had any beer. I said I have this and gave him one. Told him how I hated it and couldn't give it away because it was gross and that he didn't have to drink it. He opens it, takes a sip and loves it! Said it tasted how beer tasted when he first started drinking beer (he was born in 1931 mind you). He ended up taking the other 4 bottles with him!

I don't really have any cheap beer that I love. PBR actually isn't bad, but won't say I love it.
Click to expand...


but it's premium?
 
Not a beer, but people shouldn't turn their noses up at blended scotch. Some great blends out there.

Anyways, I'll drink a Coors or Labatt's Blue, but will not serve a Carling even if I don't like you.
 
Recently I got myself a case of Corona with a few limes. I regret nothing.

Pabst Blue ribbon would be the beer I wouldn't want to be caught dead with.

Special points for Coors Light. Seriously. I don't even understand how that can get away with selling things like that. Pretty sure they brew a 8% beer and just double it with tap water.
 
Upstate12866 said:
I'll bite.

Favorite cheap beer is probably Coors original or banquet beer (in the tan can). You can get it in train stations and food halls for like 2.50 in a big can. If you are wasting time, buy one for sure. Better than most alternatives you can find at that price. I don't like the prices of beer these days. No 7 dollar pours or $11.99 six packs for me. Some drugs are cheaper than that.

Honorable mention for Yuengling, which by all rights should be the best cheapie. Still aged in caves and all that. But in recent years I don't like it as much. If you wanna bring a cheap beer to a party without looking like a dingus, grab Yuengling "for the history."

Worst cheap beer that I've bought frequently (not Steel Reserve or Camo, which I hope I never buy again) is Natty Strawberry Lemonade. Why do I buy it?? You get 6x16oz tall cans for $2.30 at the grocery store, not on sale or anything. Somehow that is the regular price. Cheaper than Natty Lite! So every few months I'll see it and say **** it, it's 2 bucks. But it's so sweet and gross I don't think any man can drink em all and survive. Someone should make a tiktok challenge out of it.
Click to expand...

Naturdays is the cheapie that I like! It's the only beer that I've bought somewhat regularly for the past couple years (3 or 4 cases a year). It's delicious and refreshing, but 2 or 3 is about all I'd want to drink at once.
 
Hamm's light was $16.50 (including tax) for a 30 pack but they just quit making it. It wasn't bad for the price and I kept some around for those 100F days out kayaking and to blend with over the top IPA's and home made cider that was a little too acidic.
 
marc1 said:
Naturdays is the cheapie that I like! It's the only beer that I've bought somewhat regularly for the past couple years (3 or 4 cases a year). It's delicious and refreshing, but 2 or 3 is about all I'd want to drink at once.
Click to expand...
I hate it but I must love it since I keep coming back! Haha
 
I used to look forward to drinking Kokanee when I used to drive up to BC for some fishing. It was a decent enough beer, but I'm sure the joy of being out in the sticks and not having to see another human being for a full week had something to do with it.

As for my least favorite "cheap" beer, I've never understood what people see in Corona. Once you strip away the advertising campaign and the lifestyle it suggests, there's nothing of substance left. It's the beer version of Jimmy Buffet's music.
 
Home brewers generally like beer and buy a lot of all types. I’m always amazed at light beers considering how hard it is to produce something that light on a home brew scale.

My favorite cheapie is Coors light. So neutral and light, almost like seltzer water. I recently made a batch of IPA that came on too strong - I ended up watering it back 50/50 with Coors light in the glass and became an easy drinking IPA!

Coors light is also good for glugging on the weekend in high volumes while working in the summer 97F heat here in SoCal... !

Leopold Schmidt, founder of Olympia Brewing said it best in the early 1900’s - “The lighter the beer, the better it sells”,,,!
 
1 Coors light cause it makes a great red beer.


2 naturdays, it left a taste in my mouth so bad it ruined the next 2 good beers I drank.
 
I live in Germany.... Pretty much every beer here is cheap and well below 1 dollar per half a litre can/bottle. But if you want to go really low low low....


The worst really cheap one I had is probably Von Raven or hemelinger or... Nooooooo, how could I forget, the worst is definitely Astra.


The best really cheap one is 5,0 original (yes that's the name). All of them listed are below 50 cents per 0.5 litre.
 
My favorite cheap beer is really malt liquor - Mickey's.
Worst cheap beer is really hard but probably Keystone.
 
Upstate12866 said:
I'll bite.

Favorite cheap beer is probably Coors original or banquet beer (in the tan can). You can get it in train stations and food halls for like 2.50 in a big can. If you are wasting time, buy one for sure. Better than most alternatives you can find at that price. I don't like the prices of beer these days. No 7 dollar pours or $11.99 six packs for me. Some drugs are cheaper than that.

Honorable mention for Yuengling, which by all rights should be the best cheapie. Still aged in caves and all that. But in recent years I don't like it as much. If you wanna bring a cheap beer to a party without looking like a dingus, grab Yuengling "for the history."

Worst cheap beer that I've bought frequently (not Steel Reserve or Camo, which I hope I never buy again) is Natty Strawberry Lemonade. Why do I buy it?? You get 6x16oz tall cans for $2.30 at the grocery store, not on sale or anything. Somehow that is the regular price. Cheaper than Natty Lite! So every few months I'll see it and say **** it, it's 2 bucks. But it's so sweet and gross I don't think any man can drink em all and survive. Someone should make a tiktok challenge out of it.
Click to expand...
Def agree on the Coors (the beer of my youth, so both nostalgia and taste). I'm 'man enough' to admit that I've brewed both Light and Banquet varieties in the past year along with Continental lagers and over-the-top hoppy IPAs. Variety is the spice of life.
 
2hennepin6 said:
1. Genesee Cream Ale (more nostalgia over taste). I'd have said their Bock but they don't make it anymore AFAIK.

2. Goebels-long gone and long bad. 4.99 a case as an underaged college student in 1988. Those old long neck bottles with the washer wear rings.
Click to expand...
Bluekat said:
Favorite: Genesee Cream Ale. To me it's the gold standard cream ale at a great price.
Least Favorite: Bud Light. It's simply tasteless.
Click to expand...
Agreed, Genny Cream is my favorite cheap beer. For me it sets the cream ale standard. I wish I could get it out west.

Worst beer? Anything I've tried from Budweiser. Never tasted right to me.
 
Brooothru said:
Def agree on the Coors (the beer of my youth, so both nostalgia and taste). I'm 'man enough' to admit that I've brewed both Light and Banquet varieties in the past year along with Continental lagers and over-the-top hoppy IPAs. Variety is the spice of life.
Click to expand...
I also like Coors. Not available/much known in Germany, but I had a few in Britain. It's clean and had some very subtle nice stuff going on. I remember a hint of banana.
 
Favorite cheap beer (but couldn't tell you the last time I actually drank it): Labatt blue
Worst cheap beer: regular Genny, Milwaukee's best ice
"Honorable mention": I think corona is the most overrated macro ager, period. I've even had discussions with people who generally like craft beer extol the virtues of corona, almost invariably that it's "great in the summer". I guess that's marketing for ya.
Edit: (skip to ~3min)
 
I like to keep some Yuengling Golden Ale on hand.
The worst is Butternuts Pork Slap Pale Ale. I bought a sixer and could only manage 1/2 a can before dumping it & the rest. I tried it on tap once and it was so bad, the bartender didn’t charge me for it.
 
Miraculix said:
I also like Coors. Not available/much known in Germany, but I had a few in Britain. It's clean and had some very subtle nice stuff going on. I remember a hint of banana.
Click to expand...
Agree that banana phenolic can be present, but I think it's a flaw in handling rather than a feature. Fifty to 60 years ago here in the States, Coors was not available east of the Kansas-Missouri state line due to (aledgedly) the fact that it wasn't filtered nor pasteurized. It was only distributed in refrigerated trucks and was only sold from refrigerated display cases.

From a recipe standpoint it has always used premium German malts and hops, or U.S. domestic cultivars supplemented with 6 row and corn, and fermented with an Andechs yeast strain. The Light version (originally Coors Cutter) showed up in the 70s in response to Miller Lite and incorporated rice in the grist to dry things out a bit.

My brews used Weyerman Floor Malted 2 row with judicious amounts of corn and/or rice, Cluster and Liberty hops, and Wyeast 2105-PC which is supposed to be the Coors strain of Andechs. To me, Coors is an American homage to a Munich Helles (one of my favorite beers), but doesn't ever reach the excellence of the German beers. None of the light American lagers have been in the same class as German lagers, but Coors comes closer than most if you can't be drinking in the Marianplatz.
 
BrewMan13 said:
Favorite cheap beer (but couldn't tell you the last time I actually drank it): Labatt blue
Worst cheap beer: regular Genny, Milwaukee's best ice
"Honorable mention": I think corona is the most overrated macro ager, period. I've even had discussions with people who generally like craft beer extol the virtues of corona, almost invariably that it's "great in the summer". I guess that's marketing for ya.
Edit: (skip to ~3min)
Click to expand...

When in Mexico, drink Modelo Especial and stay away from that lousy gringo beer (Cornhola) that needs lime to make it drinkable.
 
I try not to hate on beer, even the "cheap" stuff.

Its hard to compete with if you just like quantity over quality. I saw (6) 16oz cans of Natty Light for $4.99 the other day. Cant compete with that, at least I don't think.

But, for me, I like a lot of cheaper beers. Miller High Life, Carling Black Label, Genesee, Narragansett, Coors Light, Miller Lite is ok, Bud Heavy. I refuse to drink a Bud Light, not due to its attributes, just due to some bad, young age experiences, associated with over consuming. I typically don't venture down the REALLY cheap beer hole. I stay away from Milwaukee's Best, Keystone, Natty, things like that.

I try to treat beer as a...treat. So, with that, I try to pick something I like, or something interesting. Cheaper beer doesn't interest me in that respect. But, I am not above it. Just do not prefer it.

As for worst beer...Steel Reserve probably...terrible.
 
Don't hate me, but I've grown fond of Steel Reserve and Hurricane (not sure who makes it). Yeah, they are basically malt liquor - 8% ABV, 25oz can for $1.59. It hits the spot for cheap and great on the golf course when you want a little buzz with your birdies!

Worst is Naturday Strawberry Lemon crap water. Bought a 15 pack for like $6.99 but it was barely drinkable - even on a hot day on the golf course!
 
Beermeister32 said:
You may be right!
Click to expand...
When I worked, in another life, for Molson, before they merged with Coors, they were boasting about how they were brewing and fermenting a batch and bottling 1.5 batches. Those were 5%
beers. I'm pretty sure since then they figured out how to do double. Especially with a 4% beer.
 
Makes sense for industrial scale. Probably makes sense for HB scale too... I’ve done a couple batches that way, water back one double batch into two carboys. Works OK, maybe adjust your hop utilization a bit.

One batch I did I overshot my mash temp in a huge way denaturing enzymes.... To save the batch I doubled the grist quickly on the fly to get the new enzymes going... watered it back later into two carboys. I called that batch “Double Trouble”. Turned out fine!
 
Brooothru said:
When in Mexico, drink Modelo Especial and stay away from that lousy gringo beer (Cornhola) that needs lime to make it drinkable.
Click to expand...
When I visited friends in central Mexico, we drank cahuamas (40's) of Corona Familiar, and I don't recall seeing much of the American versions of Corona there. Familiar can be found in the states, and it's not too similar to the stuff in the clear bottles, so it can be a fun one to try. Imagine a 14 year old kid drinking one on a milk crate next to the cash register when you purchase for a full experience. It also makes very nice Micheladas.

I always giggled about how it was the "family" beer, good for the whole household. If you see something like "un lugar familiar" painted on the front of a hangout, it usually meant they tried to keep drugs and bad behavior out--it's a family place. So I find Corona Familiar to give me layers and layers of enjoyment.
 
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