Beer Lao.

When the commies took over, they nationalized a brewery belonging to Fosters and had East Germany fly in some highly skilled commie German brewmeisters to show them how to run it.

Pretty good beer.

...?!? Awesome!! :p

Bad choice man. As they say, drinking Miller Lite is like having sex in a canoe.

Personally, I like San Miguel from the Philippines. It's also available in Hong Kong, Thailand and some other parts of Asia, but on a limited basis in some of those places. Most beer (and other bottled beverages) in this region are sold by the container. Some people who live there and haven't travelled much will look at you and act confused if a "six pack" is asked for. Price in Manila for a bottle of San Mig is about 20-30 Pesos, which is about .50-.60 USD. Good stuff and IMO it would easily top stuff that sells in North America for 3-4 times as much.

Lone Star and Tecate. I think Lone Star is only available in Texas but I could be wrong... Of course there is always Shiner (I prefer the Hefeweizen) but I don't want to put it on the cheap beer list.

My advice for which beers to stay away from, RanierBeer... Wow, that's some awful stuff.

Nothing better than a bottle of ice-cold Miller High Life. It is, indeed, the Champagne of Beers!

I used to enjoy a frosty bottle of Altes at Gusoline Alley in Royal Oak, Mich., when I lived there. Too bad they stopped making it. Tried making the switch to the next cheapest beer there, Goebel, but just couldn't stomach it (Gus's actually had a sign up that said "Broke? Try Goebel" and it was maybe $1/can).

Gotta be kidding ... High Life is more like urine than any
other beer I've ever encountered, and I've encountered
some nasty ones.

I grew up in Wisconsin, which brews some of the most boring (most of the Miller brands) and interesting domestic beers. The best cheap ones are the bock versions of the small town breweries, such as Huber, Leinenkugel, Augsberger, Capital Brewery and some others I can't remember. Back in my college days (late '80s), you could get these terrific beers for $6-9 for a whole returnable case.

Anyone else remember returnables?

There's nothing terrible about the mass produced American beers -- they're not awful. The problem with almost all of them is that they are really boring. For the same price, you can find much more interesting beers.

I also love Tsingtao. Can definately add that to my list.

But it isn't a cheap beer in much of the world (US price is about $1.40 per bottle -- or double the price of the "cheap beer" threshold). Given that it is brewed in china from ingredients imported from Canada and Australia, it will never be very cheap. While below average by German pilsner standards, Tsingtao does have a sweeter taste which appeals to the Asian market, and is a well made beer.

Oh, I don't dispute that - I'll drink Bud or Busch or MGD or Michelob or
even Rolling Rock, but High Life ... get someone to buy one for you, and
let it warm up past 40F, and sniff it, and see if you don't agree.

I wonder if they've changed the formula for this stuff. Back in the early 70s, I remember it as being pretty decent. Nothing special or particularly distinguished, to be sure, but a reasonably high quality macro brew.

The current version, however IMHO, is pretty hard to take.

Goebel: Now there's a blast from the past! My memory of it was that it was dirt cheap, but not bad. My grandfather used to like to knock one back (and just one) at the end of a hot summer day.

In Belgium I was picking up 4 packs of Chimay for 4 Euro. It says a lot about the general standard of beer in a country when the cheap supermarket beer is Chimay.

Because I'm Australian my pick of the budget beers there would be a Coopers

I don't think I've bought a "cheap" beer in the US yet as there's far too much interesting beer out there that has to be tasted but if I'm unfortunate to be stuck somewhere with a limited beer selection I usually tend towards sam adams.

Hamms

It's entirely possible that the High Life formula has changed over the
ages - when I started drinking, I preferred Budweiser (that was 1953, and
I was very very young), but at university ('60s-'70s) I didn't think Miller
was that bad. But now, I can smell it two or three glasses away.

Hamm's? Hamm's hasn't been anything to write home about for decades,
either. I remember when Consumer Reports gave it the top rating (that too
was probably 30-35 years ago), but shortly thereafter it was bought up
and brought down. Actually, it was never that good, just a clean, crisp,
almost unhopped beer. Not unlike Olympia ("it's [the] water), Stroh's
("fire-brewed"), and several others that went the same way of all fluid.

Here in Madison we get 24-packs of 500mL cans of Hollandia for about $16. It's a good, honest, dry pilsner from Holland. Much better than any cheap American pilsner, and also much better than Heineken.

I'm a little less than two hours away from Mad City, so next time there, I'll make it a point to pick up some.

I pretty much agree with the previous poster about Hamms, Strohs, and Oly. Of the three, I'd rate Strohs as "least boring"....but not by much.

Love Shiner Bock. But I can't get it for less than $7 for a six-pack here in Washington. That's not exactly in the cheap beer category.

I'm a fan of Miller Lite and Molson. During college, though, I drank many Keystones and Natural Lights.

Hamms was my first beer ever. My Dad had a six pack in the fridge for about 6 months and I kept looking at it and wondering how I could sneak one and give it a try. I know I eventually took one. Not sure how I didn't get caught. Probably was 13 years old. Been downhill ever since.;)

I like Orangeboom from Holland. I can get it for $4.99/six pack at Trader Joes.

I also love Victoria beer from Mexico. I believe it's made by the same folks who brew Corona. I've had it in Cancun but haven't ever seen it in the US.

Genny Screamers (called that as how it affected some the next morning on the throne) ^ . I haven't had a screamer in ages.

I remember getting Goebel's in high school (early 80s) for $3.99 a case. Mickeys was always the cheapest in the store when buying by the 6-pack.

You'll need to go to Woodmans. If you're coming from the E or S, head to Corner Hwy 51 and Milwaukee St. Great selection of beer there. Also Bitburger cans are good value (but Hollandia tastes better).

Milwaukee's Best regular and Light is usually available all over the US for about $13.00 a 30 pack.

Miller reformulated the recipe slightly a couple years ago when they starting putting MILLER on the Milwaukee's Best cases. Don't tell anyone, but is the same as Miller Lite, just in the "economy" package.

We have watched the cans come off the assembly line while waiting for our semi's to be loaded. Both lines feeding from the same vat, just different labels and packaging. And no advertising budget for Milwaukee's Best.

I presume the Woodman's just off the Beltline at Gammon would also work. I have a customer right up the street from there, so that's where I'd be. (I'm not real crazy about Bitburger, BTW...at least the U.S. version).

There is a good cheap, beer?

If I can't get a pint of Guiness, I usually order a Budweiser...I think it's a great beer.

Coors Light is my cheap beer, when quantity is more important than quality.

Are you referring to the original or that which is brewed in St Louis?

And, on that topic, has anyone noticed the differences in the taste of Budweiser depending on where it's brewed? I haven't had a Bud in decades, but in college, I noticed a much different flavor while visiting St Louis than what I was accustomed to from Merrimac, NH.

Should do, though I don't usually shop at that one. Either way, I think you'll be impressed by their beer selection and prices.

I'll cast another vote for PBR...it would go to Shiner Bock 'cept that in California it is not a cheap beer. :mad: Now...my next question is what airline club serves the best beer in the US? Worldwide? My vote is for Sierra Nevada at the SFO DL CRC and the incredible beer machines at many of the lounges at NRT. (WC, AC, RCC, etc)

I will vote for Singha when in Thailand or Staro Pramen (think thats how its spealt) in Prague... oh and also Budwar is so tasty.

Prague definately has the cheapest and best beers!

In Case Nobody Has Beaten Me To It:
 

"Life is too short to drink cheap beer."

Yes, being in Germany too long gets you to know good beer. But in the states I would vote for Shiner Bock

Honestly, No.

I think A-B used to have a minor issue with this, but solved it quite a few years ago.

In my own instance "back in the day" I once in a great while thought Bud from Columbus might be just a little "off". If anything, I thought the stuff from L.A. might be a tad smoother than usual. But in each case, it was probably "just me". As for St. Louis brewed beer, I never thought it had any particular "attributes".

PBR? People must be kidding. Keystone Light is far superior, AND less filling.

cheap beer
 

I just purchased a 30-pack of Natural Lite, for $10.00

I always enjoy drinking Dixie in New Orleans, but I'd guess that a large part of my enjoyment comes from being in New Orleans rather than the beer itself...

I prefer to drink microbrews or imports, but my cheap domestic go-to is usually Bud Light.

I'll second the Wisconsin standbys. Up until 2 years ago I could get returnable cases of Leinenkugels COLD for $11. Used to like PBR on tap for the price, but now that they sponsor rock concerts, that's not true always. Minnesota Premium Grain Belt is good, but I've heard the brewery was sold, and the water no longer comes from the artesian well in Minneapolis, making it not as good.

Also recall Rheinlander 10 packs of bottles for $3, but it wasn't _good_
We also would get the Meister Brau returnable cases for $6, icky as well. The store kept it under the produce coolers where it was WARM from the exhaust.

Current favorite is Huber Bock 12 packs of bottles for $6. They used to sell the returnable cases for $8, but alas, they've been acquired by a Canadian Malt Liquor mogul, so I'm sure that will not help. Huber ranks higher in taste tests than their flagship Berghoff Bock which costs more, but is still good.

Now THERE'S a good cheap beer!

Not the bargain-basement stuff it used to be before the rest of the world "discovered" it, but it still tastes as good as it always has!

(Except, of course, for the infamous batch back in the mid-70s that was affected by fumes from a floor refinishing job elsewhere in the building. It took them a long time to recover from that little episode!)

Haven't seen our friends to the North mentioned. Moosehead at $10.99 for a 12 has a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of Leinenkugel's out of the tap in Minong, WI many years ago. Course, I was 16 at the time, the bartenders didn't give me a second glance. What a thrill for a kid from Chicago to be able to hang out in the bar tossing them back with the oldtimers, then head out to the dock at midnight for some catfishing with stinkbait. But time or my memory makes the taste sweeter - Leinie's on tap here just doesn't have the same taste.

I believe what you're experiencing with Leinie's is that most of the stuff in Chicago would likely not be from Chippewa Falls. Whatever you had in Minong would have been from there....at least "back in the day".

Moosehead? I'm in Canada all the time and almost never see it. They made a push a few years ago to become more of a player at home, but it didn't really get anywhere. Too many other good Canadian brews....but none of them exactly cheap.

IMHO the best of a very good bunch north of the border includes Alexander Keith's, Sleeman's (especially the cream ale), Rickard's, Labatt 50 (ale), and Molson Export (ale). All of these are best on draught, but still quite good bottled (or in the oilcans they sell in Quebec).

Cheap? A relative term. Carling Light in the Ontario beer stores and LCBO stores is about a buck cheaper per sixpack than the big boys and isn't bad at all. As for other "cheap" beers available in Canada, anyone who'd go up there and drink Busch or Old Milwaukee is "a few bricks shy of a load"!:D