Why can't men drink cheap beer?

As the summer temperatures hit 100 degrees and the 4th of July Celebration has just passed, I'd like to pose a quick question...when did it become necessary to drink fashionable, fancy named, highly marketed, Craft brews whilst bypassing the nice American made beers?  Why can't a man kick back with a Lone Star, Pearl or God help us, even a Schlitz, without receiving a whole rashion of crap?  I happen to really enjoy some of the lesser regarded cheap swill like the aforementioned as well as Milwaukee's Best (The Beast), Old Milwaukee (The beer the made Milwaukee famous), Coors (The Banquet Beer) or even Olympia (It's the Water!)?  These beers all boast a long standing label of quality, competition wins and true sustainability in an extremely competitive, low margin business.  The only one seeing some resurgence in "cool" is Pabst Blue Ribbon which seems to have attracted some attention from the Southeastern college crowd.

I remember back in college doing extensive research on inexpensive beers to try and find the largest amount of beer for the least amount of cash.  From a beer can survey, Carling's Black Label was about $2.50 per six pack but packed very little "Punch".  I fondly remember also buying "Generic Beer" for about $2.50 per six pack but the flavor was not great.  For those of you not acquainted with "Generic Beer", it came in a solid white can with a single word "BEER" in black bold letters.  It was probably manufactured by Falstaff or brewer of that level.  The most beer for the least amount of money came in the keg variety offering by Keystone, a brand new beer made by the folks at Coors.  The introductory price for a keg of Keystone in 1988 was $29.00...clearly a huge value!

So that's where my affection for cheap beer got started, but it's never fallen off the radar.  Even today, as I will enjoy the likes of St. Arnold, Grolsch, Heineken and some of the higher level Mexican brews, my "Home" beers still remain Lone Star, Schlitz, Pearl and Shiner Blonde, which is actually the old Shiner Premium we enjoyed while eating XXX Hot Chili at Austin's Texas Chili Parlor during my college days.  Just to be clear, I'm not talking about Coors Light, Miller Lite or even Bud Light...all of which I loathe for their excessively priced, mass marketed, poor taste. 

So why do I catch flak for drinking the cheap stuff?  It's beer!  And in most cases I'm offering one to you my friends...for free!  These are all good old American Lagers with years of history made with each bottle, case or keg and I happen to think they taste really nice, especially for the price!  So next time you're at the grocery stocking up on beer, think about old Britt hanging by the grill in the heat happily and proudly slurping down a cold Lone Star, and pick yourself out a nice American cheap lager.  Go ahead and get some expensive stuff as well to keep up appearances, but when nobody's looking, grab the cheap stuff, go outside and enjoy!  And if you've got an extra, call me and I'll head your way!

There you go!  Ridicule me if you must, but I thought I needed to get the air clean on this subject.  It's a little like wearing a pink shirt, as long as you've got the confidence to pull it off, wear it with style.  Or in my little example...drink the cheap stuff with gusto and a smile.

Public Service Message:  Please drink responsibly!