We Asked 7 Brewers: What’s the Most Underrated Cheap Beer? (2025)

Cheap beer is never in short supply. High-quality, low-cost brews can be easily found on grocery store shelves and convenient store coolers in most states. This makes them a go-to option to bring to a casual party, an unfussy family cookout, or a friend’s house for an afternoon of football. These brews aren’t meant to impress. They’re meant to satisfy. And sometimes, that’s all that’s needed.

Some of the beer scene’s most popular labels land in this tasty and inexpensive category. But there are also more than a few hidden gems to be found chilling in the shadows of heavyweights. These underrated brews can deliver simple pleasure without as much hype or nationwide notoriety as their more famous counterparts. In some cases, they may even evoke a unique sense of place or nostalgia.

For brewery professionals, these low-key delights can be a perfect option to reach for when they’re not enjoying their own liquid handiwork. With that in mind, we asked seven brewers to highlight their favorite underrated cheap beer. While their choices may be low in price, they’re certainly not low in deliciousness.

The most underrated cheap beer, according to brewers:

Hamm’s
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Grain Belt Nordeast
National Bohemian
Warsteiner Dunkel
Allagash White
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Corona

“My cheap beer of choice has always been Hamm’s. Growing up as a kid I remember seeing lots of Hamm’s memorabilia at my grandparents’ house. As kids we’d fall asleep in the basement of their house watching one of those scrolling Hamm’s signs that had a loop of nature scenes. One of the scenes that would scroll past was a campsite with a kettle on a flickering campfire. My dad and uncles would tell us kids that if we watched closely enough, a guy would come out of the tent real fast and stir the kettle. The truth is that nobody ever stirred that kettle, but we’d watch that hypnotic sign scroll by until we fell asleep. It gave me fond memories. I got into craft beer as soon as I turned 21, but Hamm’s has always been my choice for an affordable American lager.“ —Aaron Juhnke, co-founder, Junkyard Brewing Co., Moorhead, Minn.

“I am always on the search for the cheap regional beer, and these local brews are usually the go-to beers for the region not distributed far from their locale. However, they haven’t replaced my go-to cheap beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon. PBR is an all-day-drinker, dependable, and triggers memories of wild nights from overindulgence. Sure, I am given a hard time showing up at a friend’s house with a 12-pack of PBR (‘You’re a professional brewer and this is what you bring?’), but at the end of the night, all 12 of those empty cans are headed to recycling.” —Paul Liszewski, brewmaster and director of operations, East Brother Beer Co., Richmond, Calif.

“I spent a decade of my adulthood in Minnesota and drank plenty of classic cheap lagers. All were great quality, but the one I kept coming back to was Grain Belt Nordeast. To be fair, it’s not an old classic brand, but it’s from a great historic brewery [August Schell Brewing Company], who made a spectacular modern rendition of an easy-drinking American lager built around classic flavors. It has a striking light amber color and contains a very light malt character and soft hop bitterness. It drinks more like a Kölsch or Helles. It’s a little difficult to come by outside Minnesota and some areas in the upper Midwest, but it’s worth a try if you’re ever in the area.” —Scott Krebsbach, operations manager and proprietor, Vault 202 Brewery and Taproom, Appleton, Wis.

“Living in New York for the last 11 years, it would be easy to name a staple beer that you see at most dive bars like High Life, Budweiser, or PBR. Being from Baltimore originally, however, I’d like to highlight a beer you rarely see here in NYC. National Bohemian, or Natty Boh, is the cheap beer of choice to so many people in Baltimore. Anytime I’m back visiting family there’s a cold case in the fridge waiting for me. The true Baltimore combo is an ice-cold Natty Boh and a jumbo lump crab cake with all the fixings. I wish this beer were more widely known and available but the fact that it isn’t makes it a special treat for anyone visiting Baltimore.” —Michael Domingue, taproom lead, Finback Brewery, Queens

“I’ve been loving the Warsteiner Dunkel that [Warsteiner] has in the 330-milliliter cans now. It’s the perfect balance of malt character to keep things interesting and crisp drinkability. It also has a lower ABV than what you’d expect from the complex malt character it has, which is really nice. Plus, it’s hard to beat the tradition of a beer that’s been brewed for almost 300 years!” —Derek Guggenberger, founder and director of brewing operations, Guggman Haus Brewing Company, Indianapolis

“Although some may argue they’re not underrated, I would say Allagash White and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are two of those ‘old faithful’ beers that you can find almost everywhere and are usually priced very well. One of my favorite Brooklyn bars, The Double Windsor, always has cans for $6.” —Josh Penney, head brewer, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn

“I am going with Corona. An ice-cold Corona in a glass bottle with a lime is one of the most refreshing beers on the planet. It is obviously great at the beach, but it is almost as good in a cold, dingy dive bar in the middle of winter. This all relies on there actually being a lime, though, and the lime has to be fresh. Now that I think about it, maybe the Corona is really just a vessel for the lime.” —Richie Tevlin, owner and brewmaster, Space Cadet Brewing Co., Philadelphia

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