We've recently been blessed with the arrival of both an Aldi and a Lidl, within 5 minutes from our place. I hesitated to try the absurdly cheap beer they offer, but as budget concerns at home grow larger, so my hard won belly is at risk of growing smaller.
So a few weeks ago I tried Lidl's Finkbrau, on sale at .39 CHF for a half liter.
Then I splurged and paid full price for Aldi's Karlskrone, a whole .49 CHF.
Both are brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, which means they can't have any cheap filler, just water, malt, and hops. Both taste better to me than Feld or Cardinal (which for some reason give me a headache halfway through a can). Karlskrone takes the lead slightly to my palate. Interestingly it is brewed in Belgium, while Finkbrau is German and brewed exclusively for Lidl. Them Belgians must have kidnapped some Czechs back in the day as they do know beer.
Neither are great in any way (they hover around 4 or 5 out of 20 on beer rating sites), but they are nice drinkable beers and the pleasure to price ratio is quite high .
Any other cheapskates got an opinion on these brews?
I like the Landi beer too- but now that I'm spoiled at .49p/half liter for the pricey stuff Farmer Beer is out of my league.
As far as I know Denner's cheap beer is called Budvar . And it trounces everything else in a can in Denner, COOP, and Manor, with the exception of Pilsner Urquell. To get better I'd have to start pawning stuff and go full Belgian...
Often Co-op has their William Tell beer on special, 10 bottles for 4 chuffs, I know thats a bit pricey for your budget but still. But stay away from theie Prix Guarrantee beer, it tastes like rats p%&s
The william tell aint that bad. I second Mud's suggestion of budvar. Great beer. But Im pretty sure there is a cheaper and nastier beer at Denner to try. Cant remember the name but it looks like a can of fruit
Life is too short to drink cheap beer, but if your stomach is like madam Olga ́s house of pain you could try the Oettinger, that is the stuff you see the denizens of the parks drinking.
There is, but I can't remember the name. Well under a franc! The Budvar was tongue in cheek- it's a fine beer not to be compared really with lowly hobo swill- it just amazes me that it is so much cheaper than horrible standard Swiss stuff!
Wasn't there a thread a long time ago where someone bought that Denner store brand and the handle on the pack broke? Just outside the store, everything smashed, and Denner wouldn't replace the beer?
I was back home in Australia over the Christmas break and some guy dropped a carton on the way to his car. Everyone came out of the bottleshop to console him like he had run over his child. People grabbed his round the shoulders and walked him away, sat him down and everyone else helped clean it up while the store attendants got him another carton. Its was beautiful and hilarious at the same time
I'll second Farmer beer - they currently have 20 bottle for 10chf - 330ml bottles that is.
The problem with Landi is that they may sell farmer - but they all sell cases of Bugel, Quollfrisch and a host of other "good" Swiss lagers - which all rather pleasent.
went into a landi for the 1st time today and was eyeing up the farmer beer, but cycled into work so couldn't take a sample. Also noticed volg next door had quollfrisch on offer for 1.40 a bottle..must be out of date soon..not that thats an issue.
Got some St Bernard beer from Aldi the other day and that was not to bad
... in your quest for cheap beer, just steer clear of Denner Export Bier - I managed to get a second sip down, since I couldn't believe the first was so bad, but it was and the two cans I'd bought went down the sink ... bye-bye CHF 1.20 ...
Still, I've found Denner has two great varieties of beer: Sagres (5.95 a six-pack) and Golden Ochsen (under 8 or 9 francs a ten-pack). Both go down very smoothly ...
Oh, and on 'full-price' beers, also avoid Eichhof's Pony - the source is clearly featured on the label!
I have to go with the Landi Farmers Weiss beer. I was at a wedding a few years ago, and it's all they served. Then again as an auto mechanic he has been able to buy his own flat under the age of 28. Good man. I hate Finkbrau. Only beer in recent memory that wasn't skunked that I actually poured out after getting 20% thru the can.