Ah, cheap beer. Back in college, they’d sell Rhinelander for $1.15 a six. It was kinda nice because you could hold your net worth in your hand, visualize separating out three quarters to do your laundry (two for the washer, jammed with dirty clothes to the point that only 1 tsp of water would fit) and one for the dryer. 12 minutes of drying for two weeks’ worth of clothes? Hey, how wet could they get, right? They’d also have sales on Augsburger for $2/a six of BOTTLES! Man, that was a treat!
Worst beer I ever had: generic. On a ski trip to Wisconsin, someone “pitched in” a six of generic. The lettering font was pseudo-miliary, black letters on a white can. Like, “Hey, it’s beer…what more do you need to know, Mr. Rockefeller?!” I managed one or two sips before that wince, normally associated with malt liquor, forced me to pour the rest down the drain.
ETA: Maybe I missed it upthread, but let’s not forget the tradition of starting with decent beer, getting a buzz, and then switching to the cheap stuff.
I remember that generic stuff! It seems like they only put it out there for a short time. I also remember Kroger had Cost Cutter Beer for a while … yellow can complete with scissors logo. I remember some of the men at a church picnic drinking it and one of them connected with Kroger maintaining that it was Falls City. If I remember correctly, this brand was regularly referred to as Falls Shitty.
I’d love to have one of those cans, or even one of the black and white generic cans now! What a hoot.
Yeah, those generics…big old bag of “POTATO CHIPS” and “TOILET PAPER,” real military-grade stuff. I didn’t think to look if they had any “WINE” because we had discovered TJ Swann which really was pretty tasty.
Falls Shitty, eh? I didn’t like Olde Style (which we called “Dog Style”) or Schlitz (What do you call 24 prostitutes? Case of Slitz), but could down most of the others. Red neck, white sox, blue ribbon beer!
Yeah, we had another thread about those “bold print” no brand labels. I can still get Vanilla Ice Cream like that, but nothing else. They used to have all sorts of thing, like PEAS and POTATOES, but it’s all gone now. Was it government subsidized?
I never saw BEER, though. I would try it, of course.
By the way, I was in California this week and I tried Kirkland Beer, which is Costco’s store brand.
Yes, there is now a “store brand” beer.
Anyway, I tried three varieties. Amber, Pale Ale, and Hefeweizen. The Pale Ale was actually not too bad. Anyone else try this brand?
I was told Kirkland was cheap, but I guess it was $16.99 for a 24 pack, while today in Michigan, I bought a 30-pack of Red Dog for $13.09, so I guess cheapness varies by region.
No kidding. Here in the great white north, it’s only slightly more expensive than the ‘buck a beer’ variety (referring to a 24 bottle case being 24 dollars).
On top of that, it’s awful, awful stuff. (Which makes me ponder how awful these other cheap beers you mention are…)
You wrote that OP drunk, didn’t you?
I’m thoroughly amused by the reviews from the link you posted. Some highlights:
“Aroma is urine, water, dirty socks, and sweat.”
“Aroma is of rebar with candy corn stuck to it. Flavor is the same but with less rebar, and added notes of cardboard”
“It’s the perfect beer to drink while driving in your car. The police just think you’re drinking grape soda. Highly recommended for long road trips. My buddy and I crushed 2 30 packs on our way down to Miami, FL (15 hour drive).”
Around these parts (Salt Lake and the Mountain West in general) Labatts is a premium (read-more expensive) brand, and is every bit on par with Molson and Moosehead, which are the three big brands of Canadian beer sold around here…
I also like Labatts, but not enough to pay twice as much for it as the typical American pils or lager, except for every once in a great while, for example if its on sale.
By the way, how is Labatts viewed in Canada?
I have only visited Vancouver and Montreal, but it seems to me that Labatts was pretty common in both those cities, with no one acting like it was an “off” brand; In fact upon reading this thread I was very surprised that Labatts is looked down upon in some areas of the USA.
There are three levels of cheap beer I’ve observed:
Pabst, Hamm’s, Olympia, Rainier–the cheapest you’ll find at bars, about $1.50-$2 a can. These are actually my favorite kind of beers, because they have a bite BudMillerCoors don’t. (Think about how many Bud Light or Coors drinkers you know that like them “because they’re tasteless”.)
Schmidt’s, Black Label, Old Milwaukee–only found at grocery stores because nobody in their right mind would pay bar prices for them. Usually consumed by really desperate minors. I only knew one guy in college who drank Schmidt’s (often called the “animal beer” due to the hunting images on its packaging.) When college students think a beer is too rank, it’s awful.
Steel Reserve 411–the only people I’ve actually seen buy this are obviously homeless people, who always struggle finding every penny they have to afford the 99 cents tallboy.
How did I miss the hilarity of this post the first time? Seriously, get wasted with some friends and theorize about it. Then it will all make sense until the next morning. Or something.
I heard that was what happened with Corona. I never developed a taste for it or bought it but supposedly, it was an econo brand that caught on and they jacked up the price.
Want a beer, man?
Sure, what kind?
Um…black letters.
It’s just one step up from “Vacation”
Cousin Eddie: Hey, you look like you could use a cool one!
Clark: Now you’re talking!
[Hands Clark the beer he was drinking, opens a fresh one for himself]
Real…tomato ketchup, Eddie? Too bad he didn’t hold up a bottle with the black lettering.