Craft beer can get expensive.
That’s not exactly a controversial statement anymore. A four-pack of some of the most hyped beers in the country can cost enough to make you stop and think about it.
But expensive beer and good beer aren’t always the same thing.
There are plenty of breweries making excellent beer that doesn’t require you to spend a fortune every time you want something better than the usual six-pack. Some of those beers come from breweries with serious reputations, too.
So instead of putting together a list of the cheapest craft beer we carry, I wanted to look at something a little different: the best bang for your buck craft beer.
These are five picks that give you a lot of beer, a lot of flavor, or both, without sacrificing quality.
And yes, these are all beers we carry at Beermill.
What Makes a Craft Beer a Good Value?
“Value” doesn’t necessarily mean cheap. That’s an important distinction.
A beer can cost more than a typical macro six-pack and still offer better value if you’re getting a well-made beer from a respected brewery, especially when the package gives you enough beer to actually share or drink over several occasions.
Pack size matters, too. So does ABV. So does the style. So does how much flavor you’re getting from the beer.
Most importantly, though, the beer has to be good.
That’s where Untappd can help give us some context. It isn’t the final word on whether a beer is worth drinking—I’ve written plenty about the limitations of beer ratings before—but thousands of ratings can tell us whether a beer has built a consistent following.
With that in mind, here are five of our favorite value picks in no particular order.
1. Three Floyds Deluxe Lager
Three Floyds probably isn’t the first brewery that comes to mind when you think about value.
That’s exactly why Deluxe Lager is such a good pick.
Three Floyds built its reputation on aggressive IPAs, stouts, and some of the more intense beers in American craft brewing. Deluxe Lager takes a completely different approach.
At 4.5% ABV, it’s a lighter American lager brewed with corn grits. Untappd describes it as clean, refreshing, bright, malty, and “gulp-able.” Way to go on finding a weird synonym for crushable. It currently sits around a 3.68 rating from more than 8,600 ratings. That’s a pretty good résumé for a beer that doesn’t need to make a big production out of itself.
The other reason it makes this list is the format.
We carry Deluxe Lager in a four-pack of pint cans, which is already a nice way to get more beer in each can. Even better, buying it by the case brings the value up another notch.
And that’s really the appeal. You get a beer from Three Floyds, one of the most recognizable names in American craft brewing, without having to reach for one of their heavyweight releases. It’s simple. It’s clean. It’s refreshing. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want.
2. New Trail 24/7, Crisp and Crisp Amber
If you’re looking for the best overall value in a bigger package, this might be the pick.
New Trail has so many options for value beers: 24/7 Hazy Session IPA, Crisp Lager, and Crisp Amber Lager.
Start with 24/7.
New Trail designed the 4.72% Hazy Session IPA for exactly the kind of drinking occasion that the name suggests. The brewery dry-hops it with Citra and Mosaic and uses a thiolized yeast strain to boost tropical and citrus aromas. Untappd currently has it at 3.79 with more than 4,800 ratings, and it even picked up a 2026 Gold community award. One of our personal favorites.
Then there’s Crisp Lager, a 4.8% American lager that keeps things simple. Untappd puts it at 3.63 with more than 10,900 ratings.
Finally, Crisp Amber brings a little more malt into the picture. At 5%, New Trail describes it as a traditional amber lager that balances flavorful maltiness with easy drinkability. Untappd currently has it around 3.72 with more than 3,600 ratings.
That’s what makes the pack such a good value. In relation to my ratings blog post, getting that decent of a rating consistently on a less expensive package with not the most exciting style is pretty impressive.
Get all three!
For someone who wants a fridge full of beer without breaking the bank, it’s hard to beat.
3. Fuego or Cloudy & Cumbersome
I’m cheating slightly here.
I couldn’t choose between two beers that both make a strong argument for the same spot, so I’m leaving the choice up to you.
Tonewood Fuego and Levante Cloudy & Cumbersome are both excellent examples of the kind of IPA craft beer that can compete with beers from much more hyped breweries.
Tonewood Fuego
Fuego is a 6.2% American IPA that currently carries a 3.94 rating across more than 27,000 Untappd ratings. Now THAT is impressive. Tonewood describes a golden, hazy IPA with a soft, sweet bread and biscuit malt backbone alongside grapefruit, lemon, peach, mango, floral character, and resinous pine.
That’s a lot going on for a beer that still manages to feel approachable.
More importantly, almost 30,000 ratings gives you a pretty good idea that Fuego has built a following well beyond Tonewood’s hometown.
Levante Cloudy & Cumbersome
If you want something softer and hazier, go with Cloudy & Cumbersome.
The 5.9% New England-style IPA currently sits around 3.85 on Untappd with more than 40,000 ratings. Oats and wheat create the pillowy body, while Mosaic and Idaho 7 bring citrusy pith, passion fruit, and grapefruit character.
Forty thousand ratings is not a niche beer anymore.
Cloudy & Cumbersome has been around long enough to become one of those beers that Pennsylvania beer drinkers simply know.
That’s why either beer belongs on this list.
You don’t always need to chase a $20 four-pack from a brewery halfway across the country to get a very good hazy IPA. Sometimes it can be fun though.
4. Bell’s Oberon
There are few beers that announce the arrival of warm weather quite like Oberon.
Bell’s has been making this wheat ale for decades, and it has become one of the most recognizable summer beers in American craft brewing.
At 5.8% ABV and 10 IBU, Oberon keeps things relatively simple. Bell’s signature yeast contributes spicy hop character and mild fruitiness, while wheat malt gives the beer a smooth mouthfeel. Untappd currently has it at 3.75 from more than 336,000 ratings.
That’s an enormous sample size.
And yet Oberon isn’t trying to impress you with some complicated hop bill or obscure brewing technique.
It’s just a really good summer beer.
There’s also something to be said for a beer that you can bring to a cookout without worrying about whether everyone there understands craft beer.
The person who likes to drink seasonally will enjoy it.
The person who normally drinks light lager will probably enjoy it.
The person who is writing this article definitely enjoys it.
That’s value.
5. Fat Head’s Sunshine Daydream
If you want hops without committing yourself to a 7% or 8% IPA, Sunshine Daydream is one of the best answers.
Fat Head’s lists Sunshine Daydream as a 4.9% Session IPA with 50 IBU. The beer brings big citrus, peach, orange, and tropical fruit character while keeping a lighter malt backbone. Untappd currently has the beer at 3.72 from more than 60,000 ratings.
That’s the sweet spot. You get legitimate hop character.
The whole idea behind a session IPA is drinkability, and Sunshine Daydream gets there without becoming boring. You can drink it when you want something flavorful, but you don’t necessarily want a Double IPA.
For summer especially, that’s a pretty useful beer to have around. For a barbeque, I think it’s a great option. And with more than 60,000 Untappd ratings, it’s clear that plenty of other beer drinkers agree.
What Is the Best Value Craft Beer?
That’s obviously going to depend on what you like.
If you want a great lager from a brewery known for completely different beers, Three Floyds Deluxe Lager is a fantastic choice.
If you want the most beer per dollar, New Trail’s 15-pack is hard to argue with.
If you want a great Pennsylvania IPA, Fuego or Cloudy & Cumbersome will do the job.
For warm weather and an easy-drinking classic, Oberon remains tough to beat.
And if you want serious hop flavor without a serious ABV, Sunshine Daydream is still one of the better session IPAs around.
The common thread is simple.
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to drink good craft beer.
Sometimes the best value isn’t the beer with the lowest price tag. It’s the beer that makes you think, “I’d happily buy that again.”
As a youngin, I have to ball on a budget sometimes. That’s what these five do.
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