A colleague tells of a recent, unfortunate beverage decision. He had just finished some yard work and wanted to cool down with a beer. He was too hot for a full-flavored (and pricey) craft brew, so he chose the domestic macrobrewed lager (Miller Lite) in his fridge. Two gulps in, he realized it was as flavorful as sucking the sweat from his shirt, and poured the rest down the drain.

What to do if you want a cheap beer with some flavor? Some of us face this question when looking at $10 four-packs or $8 bombers of craft beer. Such splurges don't always fit tight budgets, even if the cost per ounce is a better deal than a bottle of nice wine.

We scoured store shelves for brews as inexpensive as your basic $5-$7 six-pack -- but with the flavor to please at least some of the beer snobs among us. Here are two that should do so -- one of which might be a surprise. Prices, per six-pack, are approximate.

UNDER $6

• Yuengling Traditional Lager, Pottsville, Pa.: Welcome to your lawn-mowing beer. Available at most supermarkets, Yuengling offers most everything you'd want in a lager -- bready sweetness, smooth feel, and a crisp, slightly hoppy finish. If you want a little more oomph, Yuengling's Black and Tan is a porter and lager blend with a bit more malt and bitterness.

UNDER $7

• American Ale, Budweiser, St. Louis: Hold on. Am I tasting maltiness in a Budweiser beer? And hops? Yes, yes, I am. You'll notice some nicely muted flavors here -- caramel and, perhaps, butterscotch -- but you won't find the pronounced metallic twang that make other Bud brews reviled in craft beer circles. American Ale is a thin but solid brew at a good price. Crown Wine & Spirits, some supermarkets.

HONORABLE

MENTIONS

Saranac Pale Ale (about $6), Crown Wine & Spirits, Total Wine & More, Whole Foods; Blue Moon Belgian White (about $7), supermarkets.

BLUE-RIBBON BREW

Is Pabst Blue Ribbon really the best of the cheap American beers?

PBR has enjoyed a resurgence of sorts in hipster circles, where fans note that it beat the big boys in a Consumer Reports blind taste test in the 1990s.

Problem is it didn't happen. Yes, Consumer Reports held a taste test of American lagers in 1996, but Stroh's and Old Milwaukee won the macrobrew domestic category, with PBR finishing in the middle of the pack.

We decided to hold our own blind tasting: six cheap American macrobrews, six unmarked glasses, three judges -- a food writer, a restaurateur and a culinary-school instructor.

We evaluated six cheap domestic beers on flavor, fullness and crispness, but really, one overriding factor: Which would taste best after mowing your lawn on a hot day?

• Pretty good: Getting high marks from the panel was Schlitz, which offered a hint of caramel sweetness and was the hoppiest of the group, and Rolling Rock, which was fuller and more rounded than most. One taster liked the grassy taste of Rolling Rock. Another, however, thought the flavor was flat.

• Undistinguished: Tasters were largely indifferent to Miller High Life, which got neither high nor particularly low marks. One noted that it had a ``beauty parlor'' aroma of sulfur.

• Pretty bad: The bottom feeders? Bud Light, which had no weight, no finish and a tinny taste. Milwaukee's Best also was panned as metallic and thin.

• Champ of the cheap: That leaves your winner, a unanimous choice: Pabst Blue Ribbon. The tasters noticed a citrus flavor, low acidity and a maltiness more pronounced than its brethren. One noted a pleasant snap of bitterness at the finish.

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