The Best Cheap Beers, According to Professional Chefs

From high-end Michelin-starred restaurants to local chain establishments, one of the most time-honored rituals for chefs and cooks across the globe is the post-shift beer. After a long day in the kitchen spent on your feet sweating over hot burners, an ice-cold beer is one of the easiest and quickest ways to unwind. 

But what are the chefs actually drinking these days? Cheap macro lagers have long been adored by chefs, including well-known, easy-drinking beers like Modelo or a Michelob Ultra, but as craft options have taken over the larger drinking scene, have restaurant workers’ favorite brews evolved? Or does there remain a runaway favorite beer chefs seem to prefer?

In an attempt to settle the debate over the best post-shift beer, we reached out to over 50 F&W Best New Chefs. Surprisingly, there was no overall winner. In fact, many chefs are even moving away from beer completely, opting for something quick, like a shot of Jameson or Fernet, or opting for sobriety.

About 20 of the Best New Chefs polled are still beer drinkers, but there wasn’t one type of beer or brand that came up on top. However, there were some unifying themes. Here are the types of beer that professional chefs choose after work. 

Old Standards

An easy-drinking lager is perhaps the most predictable post-shift beer. They’re crisp, refreshing and relatively affordable. 

Heineken

“I’ve always liked Heineken beer, for two reasons. One, my dad liked it first. And two, it was the go-to beer of one of my favorite bands, Oasis.” — Rico Torres, chef-owner of Mixtli and Greenhouse in San Antonio, Texas, 2017 F&W Best New Chef

Miller High Life

“As for post-shift drinks, I’m going to be lame and admit that I don’t have them anymore — I just head home. Back in the day, though, it was High Life. Crisp, refreshing, cheap, and you can saber the bottles because they’re technically Champagne and it’s a great party trick.” — Michael Gulotta, chef-owner of MOPHO and Maypop in New Orleans, 2016 F&W Best New Chef 

“My post-shift beer of choice has changed over the years depending on where I live. Right now, I enjoy a nice crisp Rainier.  Old reliable though is the High Life. It is the Champagne of beers after all.” — Carlo Lamagna, chef-owner of Magna Kusina in Portland, Oregon, 2021 F&W Best New Chef 

Lone Star

“After a long, grueling shift, my go-to choice for an unfussy beer is Texas’s finest liquid gold: Lone Star. This beloved beer can be found in nearly every bar across the state, and cherished by Texans, young and old.” — Edgar Rico, chef-owner of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, TX, 2023 F&W Best New Chef 

Coors Banquet

“A post-shift drink is extremely rare these days, and when I do drink, I’m a sparkling wine or white wine with a high acidity kind of guy. But sometimes a long, hot day requires something beyond traditional water. That’s when I go for the refreshing, higher-octane Rocky Mountain water of a Coors Banquet. I recently did an amazing collab dinner at My Loup in Philly, and after a long day in a different kitchen, we started our post-work celebration with pizza and Coors Banquet. The bottle caps have sayings printed on them — think old-school Snapple bottles — and on that night, mine read, “Be proud of doing it your own way.” That definitely mirrors the mindset of how I operate inside and outside of the kitchen.” — Rob Rubba, chef-owner of Oyster Oyster in Washington, D.C., 2022 F&W Best New Chef 

Pabst Blue Ribbon

“To be honest, I don’t drink beer often, but if it’s one of those kinds of nights, it would be Pabst Blue Ribbon. Drinking PBR reminds me of being a young line cook working at MK The Restaurant and hanging with the crew. It was a good time, so PBR is very nostalgic for me.” — Damarr Brown, executive chef at Virtue Restaurant in Chicago, 2022 F&W Best New Chef 

Rainier

“My favorite post-shift beer would be Rainier. It’s a Pacific Northwest classic — you can get a tall boy if you want. It’s crisp, light, and oh-so refreshing. Plus, it pairs well with tequila. — Melissa Miranda, chef-owner of Pusit Pusit Hospitality, 2022 F&W Best New Chef 

Beer with stuff in it

Many of the beer-drinking chefs turn their post-shift beer into a makeshift cocktail with a squeeze of lime, a dab hot sauce, or a sprinkle of salt.

Modelo Especial with salt, chile, and lime

“Modelo Especial is not sweet, it’s crisp. Having a cold, pilsner-style lager that has a crisp hop flavor with some sal, chile, y limon is such a great treat for when the going gets hot, or for celebratory cheers. It also has sentimental value being that our team is predominantly Mexican and well, some things just taste like home.” — Diana Dávila, chef-owner of Mi Tocaya Antojeria in Chicago, 2018 F&W Best New Chef 

Chelada by Budweiser

“My favorite beer after a shift is Chelada by Budweiser. It’s like Michelada but with clam juice in it, and I add a ton of Tapatío to the can. It’s got a nice kick, saltiness, and umami from the clam juice. It feels like drinking Gatorade, cold soup, and beer at the same time.” — Mutsuko Soma, chef-owner of Kamonegi and Hannyatou in Seattle, 2019 F&W Best New Chef 

Monopolio Lager Clara with lime and salt

“My favorite beer after a shift is a Monopolio. It’s a Mexican lager — I always always squeeze a lime and crush some Maldon sea salt above it. At Pascual, the kitchen is hot and we cook on fire so a beer after a shift feels like a barbecue with friends.” — Isabel Coss, chef-owner of Lutece, 2023 F&W Best New Chef 

Tecate Bomb

“I love an ice-cold Tecate. I had a friend from El Paso who showed me how to make Tecate Bombs, which is where you take an unopened Tecate can, fill the brim with lime juice, put a generous amount salt on the tab, then cover the salt with hot sauce — preferably Cholula or Tapatio, but it also works with Tabasco. Then with one hand guarding for splash, quickly open the beer. The salt, lime, and hot sauce rushes into the can and you are forced to take a big drink. The mix of the four things tastes like a spicy Michelada. After the first big gulp, the beer is perfectly seasoned and can be enjoyed leisurely.” – Val Cantu, chef-owner of Californios in San Francisco, 2017 F&W Best New Chef 

Wheat beer

Craft beer is a broad category, but perhaps the only type of beer that can rival a lager for the award of “most refreshing” is a wheat ale, the style of choice for chefs who preferred a post-shift beer with a little more body than the standard macro brew. 

Hefeweizen

“Favorite beer post-work is a Hefeweizen with a lemon wedge, mostly because the lemon is so refreshing.” — Cara Stadler, chef-owner of Bao Bao Dumpling House, Zao Ze Cafe & Market, and Canopy Farms in Brunswick, Maine, 2014 F&W Best New Chef 

Golden Road Mango Cart Wheat Ale

“My current favorite post-shift beer is Golden Road Mango Cart Wheat Ale. After a long night in the kitchen, there’s nothing more refreshing than the vibrant, tropical notes of mango that this beer offers. It’s light and smooth wheat base perfectly balances the mango flavor, making it an ideal choice for unwinding. I want to bring on the tropical vibes after the heat of the kitchen.” — Angel Barreto, chef-partner of Anju in Washington, D.C., 2015 F&W Best New Chef 

Anything cold, anything free, anything else

Despite some firm opinions, at the end of the day many chefs don’t have a strong preference for a specific beer — they’ll take anything that’s ice-cold or gifted from generous restaurant guests.

“After work I want something easy to drink and crushable. I am on a super soju and somaek [soju Boilermaker] kick, so Terra and Cass are my go to’s. My only rule is that I want my beer as cold as possible.” — Jamie BIssonnette, chef-owner of BCB3 Restaurant Group in Boston, 2011 F&W Best New Chef 

“For a long time I used to get the Kirkland Signature Lite beers from Costco. They came in a hilarious 48-can case for like $25. They discontinued a while back to great heartbreak. These days, it’s just whatever is the lightest and coldest. We serve a lot of Cass or Terra which are our Korean can beers. Key is that it has to be freezing cold.” — Peter Cho, chef-owner of Han Oak, Toki, and Jeju in Portland, Oregon, 2017 F&W Best New Chef 

“Since so many industry folks come, we get a lot of gifted beers. However, since we don’t allow employees to drink on premise, we actually give the gifted beers to the kitchen team to take home. So in short, the answer is: any beer that is gifted is a good beer.” — Justin Pichetrungsi, chef-owner of Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, California, 2022 F&W Best New Chef