Most people picture the typical beer drinker shotgunning [insert your generic Macro beer of choice here] into the wee hours of the night until he (or she) eventually passes out in a pile of his own vomit. Now I’m all for hitting up a party and drinking more crappy beer than is usually advisable. And dollar draft of almost anything will get me to leave my house in, oh, a second and a half. But I know there’s a time and a place for this type of beer. That time being after I’ve already downed quite a few good beers and can no longer taste anything; the place being… actually, who cares at that point? If you can’t taste, many of your other faculties are probably failing as well so just go with it. Basically, there is a time for drinking crappy beer, and that’s after your sense of taste (and most likely balance, smell, and sight as well) have left you. Devon and I were both college students at some point, however, and we understand that you can’t always be drinking $9 bottles of Avery Brewing Maharaja Imperial IPA or Dogfish Head Burton Baton at $15 per 4-pack. Hell, we’re both in the working world and can’t come close to drinking like that. I wish I could... Devon wishes he could… Most people wish they could (at least most people who like that kind of beer). But, the simple truth is, that stuff is too expensive to be a major pillar of your drinking habit.

And that brings us to the point of this article: What can the non-independently-wealthy 20-something drink that won’t break the bank but can still be thoroughly enjoyed? Luckily, I’ve been researching this for years now and feel fairly qualified to answer. There are many great microbreweries that sell 6-packs (and sometimes 12-packs) for only slightly more than the Big-Guys. And the bonus? Most of these wonderful brews pack a few extra points of abv over the cheaper macros. So, in the end, you’ll be feeling just as good for about the same cost. With that said, on to my list of recommendations for beer drinkers on a limited budget (prices are based on the liquor store I happen to frequent, they will change slightly by location, but the basic price point will remain the same):

DogFish Head

I know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t Jeff just use this brewery as an example of really expensive beer less than a minute ago?” And yeah, I did. But part of the beauty of DFH is that they span a wide range of prices. For only $9, you can pick up a 6-pack of Chicory Stout, India Brown Ale, Shelter Pale Ale, or 60 Minute IPA. I heartily recommend anything that bears the DFH logo, as long as you enjoy the style of beer you are buying. My personal favorite from this list would have to be the 60 Minute, though. Trust me, you put away six of those, and you just paid $9 for a good night!

Great Divide

I don’t think words could really do this brewery justice. Everything I have ever had by them was spectacular. And at $9.50 for a sixer, why not go for it? Their Denver Pale Ale is renowned across the country, while the Hotshot Extra Special Bitter (ESB) and Saint Bridget’s Porter are respected in their own right. If you find anything by this brewery I have only these instructions for you:

1) Stop

2) Pick up the Great Divide beer

3) Make haste to the cash register

4) Pay

5) Gloat while your friends drink lesser beer

It’s that good!

Boulder Beer Co.

BBC’s Hazed and Infused was one of the beers I was lucky enough to find early on in my good beer career. It came with a free glass, which was a bonus. But it doesn’t anymore, and I still buy it. At $9 for a 6-pack, both the Hazed & Infused and the Mojo IPA are wonderfully hoppy beers that will more than satisfy your cravings for taste and drink at the same time!

Flying Dog

$9 for a 6-pack. Do you remember my instructions from the Great Divide section? That goes for anything by Flying Dog as well. Seriously, go buy some right now! I’ll wait… It was Devon’s 2^nd ever “Beer of the Week,” even.

Harpoon

Oh Harpoon, how I love you… $8 for a 6-pack or $12 for a dozen. Yeah, you read it correct. And the best part? They have mix packs that rotate every season. So for a buck a beer, you can get 3 each of Harpoon’s 4 top beers for that season. I recommend the Summer Seasonal, it’s refreshing like whoa! But pretty much everything by them is outstanding (I refuse, however, to endorse the Winter Seasonal - if you buy it I take no responsibility for your choice). They also have their 100-Barrel Series, which is usually an excellent offering at a fair, but slightly higher, price. Make sure to check the style, though, sometimes it’s a little out there.

Avery

Perhaps my favorite brewery at this moment, their big beers will nearly raise you up to a state of nirvana… The only thing bringing you down being the price tag. For much less of a hit to your wallet, though, you can pick up some of their more normal beer. $8 will get you a six pack of IPA, White Rascal Belgian White Ale, 14’er ESB, or a host of others. But, if you are ever in a spot to splurge, get a bomber of Maharaja 2IPA... Trust me.

I realized I’m starting to run long here… Ask anybody who knows me and they’ll tell you I can talk about beer for hours, and normally will if not stopped. So, in the interest of time and getting you as much good advice as I can, I will quicken the pace.

You should be able to grab a sixer by Middle Ages, Victory, Brooklyn Brewery, Sparhawk, Stone Coast, or Smuttynose for $8-$9, and sometimes even less. I haven’t had much by Brooklyn, but have heard a lot of good things. For Stone Coast I would recommend the 420 IPA or the Knuckle Bock. Other than those caveats, if you see one of these brewers’ name on something, consider it officially “Approved by Jeff!” The same goes for Anchor, especially the Steam beer, but (FYI) a six-pack will run you up to $9.50 sometimes.

Magic Hat you can snag 6 for $8 or 12 for $14. I recommended the St. Gootz as my 2^nd ever “Beer of the Week,” and I stand by most of what they put out (I refuse to align myself with the “#9,” though - caveat emptor on that one folks).  These are some pretty tasty beers, at good prices, and they have some wicked artwork if you ever want to start lining bottles up on your walls. All in all, not a bad deal. They also put out mix packs, which are a great way to get a decent cross section of their offerings along with their Mystery Batch Brew, which changes every time they release a new mix-pack. Most of these, however, contain the aforementioned “#9.” Don’t worry, though, chicks dig that stuff!

Last but not least, a brewery I feel is often overlooked and underrated, is Buzzard’s Bay. A 6-pack will cost you $7… A 12 pack will set you back a mere $11!!! Plus, they do 12-pack samplers with limited edition seasonal brews. Does it get better than that?!? By far the most affordable choice on here, a Buzzard’s Bay beer will stand up to almost anything in its style on this list.

So there you have it, my official list of affordable-yet-delicious beers. With the diversity many of these breweries have in their line-ups, these recommendations should keep you enjoying new beers for quite a while. Whether you’re looking for a beer to drink regularly, or just a trip away from the Keystone Light, I’m fairly confident anyone can find something to like in this article that will leave their wallet far from empty.

Finally, as a quick aside, a good strategy for trying lots of different brews, without killing your wallet, is to get together with some friends and have each person bring a different 6-pack. This way, you can try one or two of beers from each brewery, without incurring the cost of buying a whole pack. Or 2 people can split a 12 pack so, for example, 6 people would split 3 12-packs. Anything along this theme is a good idea if you want to branch out and try some new things!

(The day I wrote this article, I heard that some people on the site are already doing this. If anybody wants to post a thread or contribute a short piece about how this works out, Devon and I would be happy to post the article presuming it’s well written.)

The idea for this story came from a thread on our forum. Thanks go to NRegan for posting the question:

As a college student, the purchasing of $15 4 packs just is not economically going to work out for the life of a student. However a trip away from the keystones the coors and the bud light is always appreciated. So anyone have some suggestions as to some tasty beers that won't put a huge dent in the wallet. Preferably things other than Sam Adams because I am trying to branch out a little bit from the Sam. Its tasty but there is more to beer the the Sam.

We here at DrinkCraftBeer.com are working to help the craft brewing industry and the brewers who make it. We love to give exposure to any new beers we've tried and liked. Beer costs money, though, and we're not made of it... not by far! Luckily sometimes breweries will send us sample of new offerings that they are excited about. We're not going to ignore any of these, but we are going to be 100% honest about them... especially since we don't get any advertising spend or money in any form from any of them. This section will have a little bit of both, beers we've bought and beers we've been sent to try. 

We'll give you any information we have about the beer (basically the style, anything interesting about the story, etc...), some quick tasting notes, then we'll each give you our frank assessments of how we liked it. Hopefully this new feature will help! So, with that said, on to the beer!

Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale

Appearance: Dark Ruby-Brown

Smell: Smeet malts with a tiny hint of fig

Taste: VERY smooth, very low bitterness, though it does have a touch of roasted malt flavor. Smooth and very mild vanilla tones as well as notes of dried fruit, can't say if either of those are actually added, but the flavors are there. A bit metallic on the finish, but not in a bad way. A very unique finish, that neither of us can really pin down

Devon's Take: I really like it and wish we had more. I'm not one for sweet beers and this definitely has some sweet tones but the smoothness and slight bitterness of the malt really balance this beer for me. It's not over spiced like many other winter beers and for that it makes it a good beer to have a few of for me.

Jeff's Take: I thought it was pretty good. Up until the finish it's pretty great. I don't love the dry raisiny metallic finish, and for that I'd probably get sick of this after one or two. A good beer that reminds me of a dark English pub ale, although I probably wouldn't session it. One of the better winter offerings, though, as it doesn't have spice and is smooth as hell.

Flying Dog Collaborator Double Bock
(Check out OpenSourceBeerProject.com for Flying Dog's story about this beer)

Appearance: Brownish Copper in color with a tan quickly dissipating head.

Smell:Very sweet and bready with mild hints of alcohol

Taste: Both of us were actually caught off guard on the first taste. With a double bock you expect a certain malt sweetness and roundness to the flavor. This beer is a bit of a surprise and doesn't taste nearly as sweet as it smells and also has a stronger hop finish that many double bocks out there. Lower carbonation that is indicative of the style.

Devon's Take: To be honest, I'm not sure where I stand on this beer. First off, I'm not a fan of double bocks in general, though there are exceptions. I do really like the finish of this beer. The hops are nice addition but for me there seems like there's something missing, but I can't put my finger on it. I think if it was a little more viscous that might do it.

Jeff's Take: I took my first sip and was quite surprised... thinner than a double bock and hoppier. More of a hoppy Oktoberfest almost. I dig it and could drink a good bit of it. Easier to drink than a traditional double bock... It's like a session double bock, and I'm a fan.

Flying Barrel Aged Horn Dog Barleywine
(This is a very limited batch of their Horn Dog Barleywine that they aged in whiskey barrels, only available at the brewery. We were lucky enough to receive some.)

Appearance: dark and cloudy

Smell: Whiskey. A LOT of whiskey. Strong oak tones and a hint of vanilla

Taste: The whiskey is surprisingly controlled, while it's definitely there the lack of booze coming through tones it down a lot. This is a very sweet barley wine and if you go in expecting aggressive hops you'll be disappointed. However, if you take this beer as it is, without any preconceived notions, it's quite good. It's incredibly smooth and somehow covers all of the booze. Neither of us can recall a a barley wine that covers the booze this well. TONS of vanilla on this one and a good bit of oak. Almost no carbonation... slick, smooth and pretty interesting. This would be great to split after a big meal.

Devon's Take: There's a lot of whiskey in the nose which is almost overwhelming. This beer took me more than a few sips to figure out. In the end I liked it though, but only in a 6oz serving I'd say. It's quite sweet and a bit viscous, with very intense flavors would be better paired with food.

Jeff's Take: Holy whiskey! So much vanilla oak and whiskey in this, without any booze! I'm not a whiskey fan, but I love whiskey barrel aged beers. I think this is a really good one, too. The whiskey taste is surprisingly subdued. I would love to drink this again... as long as I can split a 12 oz bottle with somebody else.

So that's our take, what's yours? Be sure to let us know over in the forum.

Founders Brewing has been open for just over 10 years now and in that time they’ve garnered national acclaim for many of their beers. The Kentucky Breakfast stout has an almost cult following selling out before it even hits the stores in many cases. Our trip out to the Midwest certainly wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the brewery. We stopped by a day before our interview with Dave Engbers just to relax and try some of the beers only on tap at the pub. Our bartender, Melissa, was great and let us sample a variety of their tap offerings. For those of us not fortunate enough to live near Grand Rapids, Michigan, let's just says we’re missing out. We found a Frangelic Stout, a rich stout with hazelnut tones that was incredible, along with one of the best porters we’ve ever had. We returned the next day eager to ask about some of these offerings and if we’d see them in a bottle. It’s here where we meet up with one of the owners of Founders Brewing Company, Dave Engbers.

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So, once a year, we here in the United States gather with family and friends to celebrate how thankful we are for a good harvest... OK, so nowadays, it's more just to celebrate everything we're thankful for... OK, so Thanksgiving is a good excuse to stuff yourself with good food, watch football (for those of you who choose to) and drink craft beer with family and friends. Well, we can't help you with football, and we don't focus that much on the food, but we can help you make sure you tie a buzz on with good craft beer so you can tolerate all the family time! We realize there's a few stages to the day, so we've made a few picks that we strenuously taste tested for your satisfaction. Remember, these are just recommendations and most craft beer has only a limited distribution range. Because of that, after each of our picks we've included alternatives that we endorse. Or, just find something by your local craft brewery in the same style. In the end, as long as you're drinking good beer on Thanksgiving, you'll probably have a good day! 

Football Time (AKA What You Drink During the Day Before the Meal)

This is a beer you're going to want to be able to drink a lot of. Whether you're watching football, the parade or just hanging out, you'll probably want something light and crisp that won't fill you up. More taste, less filling? Yes please, but we're not talking about any beer with commercials and an ad agency behind it. Our recommendation on this is Stoudt's Pilsner. Made in Adamstown, PA, this is a great pilsner made by people known for making great craft lagers.

Stoudt's Pilsner
Appearance: Light pale color with a whispy white head

Aroma: Nice light malt tones with a hint of hops.

Taste: Crisp clean, refreshing with perfect bitterness. The hops come through but are not overwhelming in any way, you can, and probably should, have more than one... and enjoy each as much as the one before it.

Other options: New England Brewing Company Atlantic Amber, Offshore Brewing Co. Amber Ale, Victory Prima Pils, Brooklyn Lager or Pilsner, etc...

Salad/Soup Drink

For this first course, you'll want something light and crisp that can go well with a vinaigrette dressing or something with a little bite to it. We think something with a decent hop bitterness will counter pretty well... just don't overdo it with a crazy Double IPA and kill your taste buds. A good pale ale or IPA should do it. Our recommendation: 

Sierra Nevada Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (From Craft Brewers Get Fresh With Your Hops)

Appearance: Redish amber, thick off white head

Aroma: Hoppiest of them all very fresh smelling, piney aroma

Taste: No doubt this is a Sierra Nevada beer. What up cascade?! While very good, it doesn't have that fresh hop feel that the Great Divide did. That aside, $5 for a a 24oz beer this good is a deal and it still has a more complex and rewarding flavor than a typical pale ale or ipa. In Sierra Nevada Fashion it is a bit more bitter than most on the backend, but it's exactly what you'd expect.  

Other Options: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Dale's Pale Ale, Wachusett IPA, New England Brewing Company Sea Hag IPA, Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale or Finest Kind IPA or if your local craft brewer makes one along these lines, check it out. You shouldn't be too hard pressed to find something good in this style. Seemingly everybody makes one!

Main Course Drink

For dinner, you'll want something with enough flavor to stand up to the slightly gamey turkey, tart cranberry sauce, buttery mashed potatoes and stuffing. But, you also don't want it to fill you up too much. Almost anything Belgian style will work. The spice of the yeast and bold flavors will stand up fine to the meal, even in lighter Belgian beers that won't fill you up. Our recommendation: 

Ommegang Hennepin Saison

Appearance: Golden straw, hazy, light white head

Aroma: Citrusy, sweet, hint of spice

Taste: Smooth, a light sweetness, spicy hop finish, and a the tell tale earthy spicy finish you'd expect from a saison. Bold enough to stand up to a hearty meal, without making you too full to eat it.

Note: This particular example of a Saison is a little sweeter than usual. There are many other saisons that are less sweet and more spicy. If you want something drier, try anything by Fantome from Belgium, Red Barn by Lost Abbey in California or Bam Biere by Jolly Pumpkin in Michigan. Or, if your local craft brewery makes a saison, give it a shot. Basically we're just recommending this style for the meal... a good saison, at least, that is. 

Other Options: Anything by Fantome, Red Barn by Lost Abbey, Bam Biere (or almost anything) by Jolly Pumpkin, Allagash White or Dubbel, or something local. Just remember, not to filling, full flavored and spicy.

Dessert Drink

For dessert, you'll want something sweet to match up with pie, chocolate or what have you. A chocolate stout on Thanksgiving can be the perfect finish to a meal. Which you choose is really up to you. It will go great with vanilla ice cream (on pie), anything chocolate or a myriad of other sweet desserts. (For a special treat, try making a beer float... Basically just a scoop of ice cream in a chocolaty stout). Our recommendation: 

Rogue Chocolate Stout
Appearance: Dark, frothy head that dissipates quickly

Aroma: Sweet, light chocolate, notes of sweet pipe tobacco.

Taste: Lighter than most, which will be nice after a big meal when many of us barely have room to fit in dessert as it is... An excellent compliment to a chocolate dessert, a fruit tart or vanilla ice cream. The oats really help this beer's mouth feel; it has a great smooth body that goes down great. In the finish of this beer, you can taste a slight hoppy taste, but it's not bitter. Just a nice slightly piney hop taste that compliments the chocolate as the beer warms. 

For those of you that have been reading for a while you might recall we drank this in summer as a chocolate stout float made with vanilla ice cream.

Note: Make sure to let this beer warm up before you drink it. If it's too cold, it definitely doesn't taste as good as it can. Seriously, drink this around 50-55 degrees F. You'll lose so much flavor if you drink it too cold. 

Other Options: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Young's Double Chocolate Stout (from England), Stone Imperial Russian Stout or many others. Any good chocolaty stout will do. Check to see if your local craft brewery makes one!

This brings us to the end of Thanksgiving. Go take a nap or just lie on the couch and watch TV. It's a restful time, haha. Digest the food. Just remember, never Drink Craft Beer and drive! Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!

And, straight from the mouth (or, rather, keyboard) of Larry Bell, here is the news that makes our last two Bell's stories make sense! 

Bell's is currently in negotiations with two wholesalers to bring beer into Illinois. These two wholesalers would cover a very specific territory and distribution would not cover the entire city of Chicago. Initially, a handful of draft accounts will be started. At that time we expect to be sued by National Wines and Spirits of Indianapolis to stop distribution. The Executive VP of NWS has told me he intends to make a lawsuit as lengthy and as costly as possible. It will be up to the judge. So.. we may be back as Kalamazoo, we may be back as some other name, or we may not be back at all. Thank you to all who have been driving to Woodman's and others in WI, IN and southern Michigan. Please do not beermail me, as I will not be able to answer them for awhile. Just stay tuned as this thing plays out.

Larry Bell
President
Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Past stories on this:
Bells Brewing Company Introducing Two New Beers...For Illinois?
Another New Bell's Beer for Illinois?

 We here at DrinkCraftBeer.com say good luck Larry and Co.! Someone needs to work to make franchise law more fair! Distributors shouldn't have all the power. It's a system that worked in the past, but is now outdated and needs to be looked at again.