Life’s Too Short to Drink Cheap Beer
Last week I had an epiphany… Life is far too short to drink cheap beer. Unless, of course, that’s what you prefer. Me? I’m fine with certain cheap beers. Miller High Life is currently my favorite low-end brew but, when I was in college, I drank an awful lot of Old Milwaukee. What it lacked in terms of quality, it more than made up for in terms of price. But I actually much prefer beers along the lines of Newcastle Brown Ale. So what’s the problem? Around here, a six-pack of High Life goes for less than four bucks, whereas a six-pack of Newcastle goes for a good bit over eight bucks. But then it finally dawned on me. I like good beer. And we can afford good beer. So I’m going to drink good beer. And that brings us to the question of the day, dear readers… What’s your poison? Good beer or cheap beer? Or maybe a good, cheap beer? C’mon, jump in and leave a comment. Name names and spread the word about your brew of choice.
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Modified on September 10th, 2006 - 137 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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137 Responses to “Life’s Too Short to Drink Cheap Beer”
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May 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Oh and life’s too short to drink ANY cheap booze.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
How about home brewing? I’ve done it before and it is real easy, not much harder than making soup. I made a lot of good IPA’s and Stouts for about $25 for 2 1/2 cases (it is probably more now). Lots of information on the net.
I am of the opinion that the American brewing industry has never really recovered from prohibition. They legalized the weak stuff first and people got used to it.
Since I don’t drink as much as I used to (cuz I’m married). I spend more and drink less of:
1. Bass
2. Harp
3. Sam Smith’s Pale Ale
4. Sapporo (when we eat out)
5. Guinness
No particular order or preference.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Dogfish head- That’s great beer- Preferably 60 minute ipa
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
However- sierra nevada has to be my favorite. If i gotta go cheap- here in miami – Presidente goes for $8 for 12. You can’t go wrong with Old Millwaukee- Its the taste as great as it’s name. Natural Light is pretty good too.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:32 am
Good beer only for me now! I enjoy Stone IPA! I live in near San Diego, and Stone Brewing IPA is hoppy with a delicious finish! I started drinking beer with Coors, Bud and Schlitz! Does anyone remember Hamms? I now enjoy good hoppy beers. I drink Fat Tire and my buddy’s home brew now.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
There are tons of great beers for each style, ESPECIALLY in American Microbreweries. I won’t speak for wheat beers, belgium ales, and alot of other styles I haven’t drunk in a while, but here are a few that I believe are standards for the style:
Lager, Pilsner – Pilsner Urquel(Czech)
Irish Stout – Guiness (well, there are better, but it is a standard and easily available)
Pale Ale – Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Descutes Brewery)
ESB – Redhook – well, again there are better, but this one goes down easy and is sort of a west coast standard.
American India Pale Ale (IPA) — I tried so many fantasic IPAs at the Mammoth Brews and Blues festival recently that I can’t even give an answer here, probably because I couldn’t remember the names (age + alcohol related problem, probably). I know San Diego had the most microbreweries with great IPAs. (California is a bit like Oregon for great brewpubs) Stone IPA was one of them, but the best was – I wish I could remember! What I drink regularly is a home-brewed IPA that is a clone of Great Basin Brewery’s Ichthyosaur Pale Ale, so for me that’s the everyday standard.
I gotta say, the best beer is the one that works for you. I can drink an American lager on a hot day, but for the most part, I agree with the “life’s to short/why not live a little” theory. Even an expensive beer is cheap in comparison to a good wine, and with the variety available these days from great Microbrewies, you can pair different styles with all types of foods for exceptional gourmet experiences.
BTW, I brew both beer and wine. Most of the microbreweries and many boutique wineries were started by homebrewers, so it’s not surprising we don’t drink bud, coors or millers much.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
You are right! Life is too short to buy cheap beer EXCEPT when your beer is readily available to your 18+ children and their friends. When the kids moved out I started buying good beer. They can have some if they come over.
September 9th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
High Life is my daily beer. On the weekends sometimes I’ll splurge and pick up some newcastle or sam adams seasonal. Sammy’s not bad, but I sure miss Leinie’s and Summit back in Minnesota…
September 14th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Drink Erdinger if you can get it (German)Quality Beer.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I love that people have been commenting on this article since it was published in Jan ‘06! I guess people are passionate about cheap beer. I am sitting here with two 12 packs of Bud Lite next to me, but only because they were on sale for $6.79 each and in these economic times, I couldn’t resist. I’m usually an MGD or Miller Lite guy.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Here in Texas what cheap beer you drink depends on if you live in a city or a small town. In the hill country the cheap beer is keystone light. In cities like Austin the cheap beer of choice is Lonestar. My cheap beer used to be Lonestar but now Miller Lite is about the same price in certain clubs. My go to beer of choice is Fat Tire. You can get it anywhere now in Texas, even my relatives podunk town has it at the local market. Luckily for me Austin has a few local brewers that make good beer which is on tap at most local bars. Live oak pilsner is a great example of a good local brew. It’s hard to drink that cheap stuff like lonestar anymore, backwards beer conversion not possible!
October 5th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I’m careful with my money, but beer is one thing I will NEVER go cheap on. In the winter, I like a nice malty ale like Sam Adams Boston Ale, Bass Ale, or Guiness. In the heat of summer though, I like to thin it out and go with a nice, crisp, hoppy beer like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Harpoon IPA. Beer….is there anything it can’t do?
October 15th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
if i’m going to be drinking a 12 pack or more, bud or bud light is always best… or if need be, busch light. when i’m willing to spend the extra money, some of my favorites are: landshark, stella, mich amber bock, or one of the sam adams.
October 24th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Being a good old Pennsylvania boy, I don’t have to go far for good cheap beer. I Just look for Yuengling. Yuengling Lager is the choice of most but they also have a very satisfying Dark and Tan. Lord Chesterfield Ale is a hit in this household with a crisp, semi-dry flavor and little or no aftertaste. It’s not necessary to pay $8 for a 6-pack of micro brew or import when there are so many great domestic brews available.
Be American, Buy American.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
My cheap beer of choice? A Russian Imperial Double Stout. Where to buy it? You can’t. I brew it myself.
I once did the math and found that I could (after the initial investment in equipment of about $150.00) brew up about 5 gallons of HIGH quality beer for about $15.00. (My favorite costs about $20.00 for the five gallons) That more than makes up for the initial investment in a very short time and you get GREAT beer.
It’s a fun hobby, and your house smells like fresh baked bread for a week. Mmmm….
You can use the same equipment to make wine, and mead, too.
Try it. It’s easy and will save you money. Plus, you can explain the science of it to your kids and they’ll be fascinated by the bubbling air-trap during fermentation.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I like RedHook ESB. It’s an English style bitter ale. I wish it would catch on more in the bars here in Spokane, Wa., because there’s nothing outside of a few Actual English beers that can stand up to it. Dead Guy Ale from Rogue brewery is real good too, and although it’s designed to be a German “Marzen” style ale, it tastes like a good English Bitter. A lot of the micros are too sweet for me, and the IPA’s are TOO bitter, but the ESB”s I really like.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:06 am
Until last week, I only drank “good” beer. I only drank beer brewed by a bunch of monks or had hints of coriander and orange or had a cork or a thingamajig rolling around the bottom of the bottle or a long, unpronouncible, Eastern European name that I have to point to when ordering. I always looked at people in confusion and horror when they ordered yet another PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon).
So last week I was completely stressed and even though I don’t usually drink in the middle of the week, I stopped at a store for beer. As I was headed for the hefeweizen, rows of forties caught my eye. “Why not? Why can’t there be something cheap and easy in my life.” I stopped careing about what microbrewery it came from. Or if it would pair well with spicy, Asian food. Or if it was the special, seasonal, novelty brew. Or if I had the proper fruit to garnish and enhance its flavor. All I had to consider was whether to drink it in the paper bag or out of the paper bag.
BUDLIGHT LIME.
It was refreshing and uncomplicated. It was not bitter, skunky or an “aquired taste”. And it was only $2 for a big ass bottle!!! Save the Guiness for Christmas because next week I am going to do a flight of cheap beer – Mickey’s, Lone Star, The Beast, PBR, Stones, Colt 45, etc!
My ephiphany is that life is too short to waste time and money looking for the perfect beer.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:39 am
I Agree with Texas beer snob somewhat, sometimes you don’t want to think too much about beer, you just want to get drunk. Especially now in these bad economic times, where everything is becoming increasingly expensive. You have to be willing to drink cheap beer sometimes, if you go out to see a band or go out with buddies chances are your’e not going to find a lot of variety in beer except for the big macrobrews. I started out drinking regular stuff such as Budweiser, Miller Light, etc and still do If I go out, sometimes that’s all you need, But I also like good Micros as well, just depends on my mood I guess and how much I have left to spend!
March 11th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I am fifty something and have been a lifelong beer lover. I have tried hundreds of brews cheap and not so cheap. I have a lot of favorites and most of them are lager. Here are a few
Moosehead- smooth Canadian
Landshark- well balanced but a little sweet
Modelo- Them boys south of the border know how to make beer!
Old Milwaukee- the best tasting affordable beer out there
Rolling Rock- best in hot weather
Many have posted that Yuengling is good. Where is it available? Have not seen it in Michigan
April 27th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Get ready to dream of affordable beer, or food and fuel for that matter. Comrade obama and his useful idiots have taken the beach and are moving inland. “CHANGE” is most certainly coming our way…..somebody voted commie, not me! It’s gonna suck being us soon.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Dude,
Make your own beer. Cheaper and way better.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:14 am
After making my own beer for the past 10 years, I will not go back! Hey, afterall, you can create your own taste, strength, and batch size. 5 gal, 10 gal, 15 gal….
From an average of $15.00 – $25.00 per 5 gal (30 bottles) you cant go wrong. The more fermentable sugar you use in the batch, the more alcohol content you get. Typical “Cheap” beer is anywhere from 3.5% to maybe 5%. My basic brew, “Lawnmower Beer” averages 6.5% and trust me, tastes a whole lot better.
I have experiemented with everything from Clones, to all grain kits mixing and matching to my tastes and have not had a bad batch yet. You can get into the craft for an initial investment of around $75. If you save your old bottles, you save on the bottle cost and most off the shelf kits come with the caps. If you want to spend a little more, I reccomend the old Pepsi or Coke 5gal containers. A dual tap kit will run you around $300 w/a 15lb CO2 bottle.
May 8th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
@Joe Kennedy (post #37)
Ah McMenamins’ Terminator Stout that is the best. Problem is that it doesnt keep bottled up. If you are ever in Oregon stop on in.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I’ve made the same decision — now that I’m older and rarely drink too many beers at one time, I don’t mind spending a little more for a good beer. Lately my favorite beer to buy is Blue Moon.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
one word…XINGU…NO ITS NOT ASIAN…Dark Brazilian Beer, best described as black silk
two words …TURBO DOG…abita brewery, La
NEW CASTLE ….ANY TIME
August 17th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I was fortunate to be born and raised in the Mohawk Valley in NY State where I started my drinking career with Norvic Beer (very cheap and every can/bottle tasted different). I graduated to Utica Club and Matt’s and now that I have a couple extra dollars to spend on great beer, I drink any of the many varieties of Saranac that is made in Utica. The price is reasonable (about $6 a 6 pack) and the quality is absolutely fantastic.
August 21st, 2009 at 2:20 pm
My all time favorite is a seasonal one – Jack’s Pumpkin Spice … in the fall when I can find it I try to stock up …I love it !!! Otherwise I like the darker brews – Mic Ultra Amber – Yeunling – Becks Dark ….so yeah I do like the better stuff.
Now the husband on the other hand ….Busch drinker ….yuck ….but then again he has to buy his own and with how much he drinks he couldn’t afford the good stuff …LOL
Going to do some searching for some of the beer suggestions mentioned by you all – maybe I’ll find a new favorite !
September 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Hey! What’s so wrong about Old Milwalkee?? It’s my favorite!
October 14th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I drink beer for the taste which means I don’t drink a lot of them and seldom the very cheap beers. But I’m always willing to try a beer regardless of the price. Who knows – maybe you’ll get lucky and find a great beer at a really good price.
Lite beer I just don’t understand and I’m a runner. I see these Michelob Ultra commercials and just laugh. The last thing I want to do is run 10+ miles and reward myself with a lite beer. I tried an Ultra once and swore I had better tasting water in Mexico.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Old English 800…
November 14th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I’ve just stumbled upon this article even though it was published in Jan. 2006.
I have a slightly different philosophy, which is …
Life’s too short to drink INFERIOR beer.
What’s the difference? Well, according to Consumer’s Reports, in a blind taste test Old Milwaukee is rated #1 in taste of American beers! (it’s true, look it up) Proving that price doesn’t always equal quality.
My favorite store bought beer (expensive)is “Midas Touch” by Dogfish Head brewery. I drink it in a champagne glass. My second favorite is Harp’s (Not Sharps) and I do agree that Home brewing is an excellent way to make beer just the way you like it at a minimal coat. By the way, this also holds true for wine. For years I have been making wine that is the equivalent of $13-$22/bottle store bought for a home brewed price of $2-$2.50/bottle. Treat your friends.
March 21st, 2010 at 11:19 am
We have a local beer where I am from called Lions Head. It comes with the saying “cheapest head in town”. Usually you can get 24 bottles for 10-12 bucks; not bad right? Although I have been on a Molson Ice kick right now, Lions Head its a good taste with an out-of-this-world price! I live in west PA, so my usual alternate would have to be Yuengling, we are home of americas oldest brewery after all!!!!
May 27th, 2010 at 3:38 am
If you’re ever in Texas, try Live Oak.
May 27th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
When my kids were young, I bought cheap beer. Now they are on their own so I buy good beer. Warsteiner is my stple, Caguama Cervesa is another since it’s always discounted at Kroger. Today I’m into Yeungling Black and Tan.
June 7th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
The BEST beer in the world is the one you find in the fridge, WHEN YOU REALLY WANT a BEER. You need it, you find it, you sip it and then you say. . . AHHhhh. : ) I have over 1500 Bottles in my collection, so I have a point of reference. I prefer “DARK” beers and have paid as much as $135.00 for a bottle (Sam Adams Utopias), I LIKE BEER! And, in MY (humble) opinion, Rogue’s Shakespeare Stout is close to the perfect brew. BUT!!! I always have an ample supply of Miller High Life cans on hand. $14.99 a thirty pack is HARD to resist.
March 6th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
To me it’s simple, if you truly love beer then you drink quality beer (microbrews). If you’re an alcoholic then you drink garbage like Old Milwaukee and Miller. I have a deep passion for great beer, words like “cheap” aren’t and shouldn’t be in my mind when it comes to enjoying a real beer. People are brainwashed in a real way when it comes to beer, all they know as beer is what they see on their tv screens. There is beer of epic quality and taste out there people, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE HOPS!!!
August 5th, 2011 at 9:32 am
BECKS 24 0Z