Even if you don't like many of the big label beers, all is not lost. Craft beers have continued to grow in size and currently four out of the top 10 beer companies in overall in size are craft beer companies: Boston Beer (SAM) (No. 5), Sierra Nevada (No. 7), New Belgium Brewing (No. 8) and Spoetzl (No. 10).
While it won't be the same as the beer from your local brewery, buying form a larger beer company to save money doesn't mean that you need to drink less flavorful beer.
Buy locally: If you refuse to give up microbrewery beer, choose beer that is made locally. A growing portion of beer price is for the transportation costs of the beer, so those that are made in far-away cities are likely to carry the added cost. Finding the beers that are made closest to you is likely to be a bit less expensive than drinking those arriving from other areas of the U.S.
Buy domestic: In the same way that locally brewed beer will be cheaper than beer made in far off cities, domestic beer is going to be less expensive than foreign beer. In addition to the transportation costs of the beer to the U.S. and then to the retailers, foreign beer companies are also dealing with a weak dollar that makes their product more expensive.
Make your own beer: Making your own beer is not nearly as difficult as you might imagine. While it will take a few tries to get the process down and a few more to experiment with different tastes, if you are willing to stick with it and learn from your mistakes, you can create beer exactly to your liking for about $1 a bottle.
