By Kendell Worden, Hop City Krog GM
If you are part of The 99% like me, I know you’ve recently been wincing at your grocery bill, doing cartoonish audible gulps as the digits tick up at the gas pump, and preparing your piggies for their potential prime time debut… My personal consumer confidence index is hovering right above the ocean floor at the moment, so of course I’m seeking ways to stretch my dollars further.
Never fear, though! “Beers on a budget” could be an incredibly grim affair, entrusted to the wrong hands, but ya girl’s gotchu. Fifteen years as a Professional Beer Person means I can reconcile cost and quality and steer you clear of “cheap” on your journey towards “inexpensive.” Dig?
To kick us off, I offer a general round of applause to Edmund’s Oast to recognize them for putting out bangers across every imaginable style that we can all afford, no matter how many baby moths are flying out of our empty wallet. Their Something Cold ($11.99/4pk) is an “ultra-deluxe premium blonde ale” (their words… that I co-sign) that initially hits your palate all soft maltiness and grainy sweetness but finishes with a just-barely-bitter whipcrack. Thirst quenching, indeed.
Their neighbors across Charleston Harbor, Westbrook, have another undeniable refresher - Beer To Drink When It’s Hot Outside ($12.99/4pk). A clean, super-lean corn lager base lets the Motueka dry hopping and lime puree absolutely sing. That tiny edge of citrus tartness makes this beer the definition of moreish.
The cool kids have been aware for a while, but our hometown heroes, Halfway Crooks, have recently made two unprecedented pivots. Their beers are now available in 12oz six-packs(!!!) and one of those beers available in-market is an IPA(!!!). Boy, is this one worth the wait, too. Fair Day IPA ($12.99/6pk) is West Coast-ish but in an expansive way that encompasses all of the various attributes that have defined “West Coast” over the last 20 years in the evershifting landscape of American craft beer. It pours a nigh-brilliantly clear amber gold, and it rides the knife’s edge between bitter and malty. They have overdone it neither with the kettle hopping nor with the crystal malt; restraint is the name of the game. The hop aroma is tangerine, apricot, and kiwi-gooseberry.
To round out our tour of High Quality, Low Cost, I have to include an OG. Paulaner Hefeweizen ($9.99/4pk) - the perfect biergarten beverage. Voluminous head, fluffy body, lemony wheat flavor, and banana/clove aromatics. The sunshine cries out for this beer.
