As consumers, we all have two lines that constrain our habits. Above, there’s the price ceiling, when the cost of beer gets above a certain point we’ll turn away. That price ceiling has been talked about to death over the last five years (at least). Far less discussed is the inverse line; what I’m going to call the ‘quality floor’. The point at which, no matter how cheap it might be, the quality of a beer is just too rough to be worth your time.
This is very much an individual scale, but my personal last stop on a frugal trip down the chiller shelf is Haägen ‘German Style’ lager. An incredibly cheap, but (IMO) critically underrated fridge filler from Asahi Beverages. The aroma is clean and fundamentally uncomplicated, but essential glimmers of crunchy malt and spicy/grassy German Hallertau hops find their way. The taste largely follows through, with enough malt and hop character to keep the palate engaged, and none of the ‘this was brewed with sugar’ note that haunts many of the other offerings in this extremely low-price bracket. I will knock it for the carbonation level, which is far too high, but nothing sitting in a glass for a few minutes can’t alleviate.
Is Haägen a premium lager? No. Is it a perfectly good one? Yes. And fundamentally, does it outperform for its price? At barely more than $1.50 a bottle, absolutely.