A Cheap Craft Beer Guide

I love craft beer, but it can be an expensive hobby. I began my journey into craft beer whilst I was still a student. Here is a guide on how to get into the hobby without breaking the bank. I am by no means an expert, but these are some things I wish I had’ve known when I started out. Not everything will be applicable to everyone but I hope it gives you a start.

Two sets of flight boards from Saltaire Brewery. 4 third glasses on each, filled to the brim with beer.

Obtaining Cheap Beer

I have four recommendations, two may be a little controversial, please feel free to give some suggestions in the comments.

1. Visit your local beer festivals, they range from around £6 entry to a lot more, but cheap ones are a great place to start. Reasonably priced beer, large variety and often a selection of local breweries. Festivals are often free (ticket price is returned in tokens) or discounted for CAMRA members, I recommend joining if you have the spare cash. I have definitely saved more money than I paid for it.

   
   

2. Local venues can be quite expensive, but with a little research and some patience, you may find some cool bottle shops, bars and taprooms that are in your price range. Breweries often sell their own beer cheaper in their taprooms. Bottle shops may have offers and discounts, they also sell singles. Some places charge corkage fees on bottles, so take away may be cheaper. Buying singles is a great way to try lots of different styles without committing to a 4-pack.

   
   

3. Try some supermarket own brand beers, as well as looking in reduce to clear sections. You’ll find dupes of bigger brands for a fraction of the price (whether you find that a violation of intellectual property rights is not what I’m discussing here).  In clearance sections you can find all sorts of different craft beers for a low price, beer after its best before date may still be good.

   
   

4. Wetherspoons have a wide selection of cask beers that rotate regularly. With Wetherspoons being so large, they can afford to buy in bulk and sell beer cheaply. Whilst this may not be great for small independent businesses, it’s a cheap way to try a lot of new beers. If you’re lucky, Wetherspoons may have some local brews for you to try, if that branches Real Ale Champion is good at their job.

Develop Your Palate

To start, I’d recommend trying as many new styles as possible. Once you have tried quite a few, you’ll have a better idea of what is worth spending money on.

There are many different styles, this may seem overwhelming at first, but exploration is where the fun is at. It is worth noting: if you don’t like a certain beer, that doesn’t mean that every other beer in that style is horrible (styles aren’t gospel and second chances matter).

An easy approach is to try anything unfamiliar; get out of your comfort zone and drink some beer.

Keep Notes

When you try new beer or styles take notes. What does it taste like? What did you like about it? I find it useful to have some basic information about the beer, such as: beer name; brewery name; ABV (percentage); style and a score.

If you don’t want to sit in the pub with a notepad and pen, you can always use your phone. In fact, there is an app for just this. Untappd is a beer rating/note app.  It’s like IMDb or Letterboxd for beer, you can rate beers you’ve drank. There’s a range of useful features and it’s worth looking into (not sponsored but follow us @ yeastyeastyeast3 on Untappd).

Get Connected

On the theme of Untappd, getting to know other people who enjoy beer can be very helpful. You may find some local tips and tricks that I can’t help you with, or you might just make a friend. It’s great to have more people to share your love of beer with and as an added bonus, they may go halves on some fun beers to try together.

The community you surround yourself in could be found from frequenting the same haunts, or simply just from being involved in online communities. I met Jen at a local beer event, then joined the Ladies of Darkness and met more lovely beer enthusiasts. Facebook and Instagram are generally the best place to find groups that meet in person. If you just want to talk about beer, there are plenty relevant Reddit pages, Facebook groups and craft beer forums.

Any of these methods can help you learn about your local scene and the hobby generally.

In this category I’d also like to include signing up for brewery newsletters. If you discover a brewery you love, sign up to their email newsletter. They often send emails when sales are on and you may get offers and website vouchers. Some breweries will have this information on social media if you don’t need anything more flooding your inbox.

Learn

Depending on how you like to consume information, there are many free ways to learn more about beer. There are lots of great podcasts (I would personally recommend A Woman’s Brew), free websites ( I enjoy Pints and Panels), videos ( I watch Clawhammer Supply and The Malt Miller on YouTube) and books (the list is too long to add here).

The benefit of learning about beer is that you can make informed choices about what you might like to drink.

Moderation

I’d recommend drinking 1/3rds or half pints to maximise the amount of beer you can taste. It is more cost effective when beginning the hobby and, equally, nobody needs pints of a 13% imperial stout (maybe you do, I don’t know your life).

Conclusion

Craft beer doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby, especially when you start out. If you decide you want to get more involved, you may be willing to spend a little more of your disposable income. Be warned: it is a slippery slope to a wardrobe full of brewery merch, a cupboard full of beautiful glassware and a wallet full of moths.

Drink safe, have a beer for me and tell me some more tips and tricks in the comments!